Simpson fires Barbados past Suriname men

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, August 5, 2014 - Shawn Simpson tallied 17 points to lead four players in double-figure scoring as ten-time winners Barbados outlasted Suriname 25-12, 25-18, 26-28, 25-15 in Men’s Pool B of the 15^th Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Championship at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo.

The left-handed Simpson was almost unstoppable above the net with 16 kills in his total while veteran Fabian Cox added 14, Ammuniki Wood 13, and Akeem Payne, 11 in the commanding victory which was accomplished in one hour, 41 minutes.

Overall, the well balance Barbadian line-up proved a notch above their opponents, outscoring them 51-36 on spikes and 7-2 on service aces while only committing 23 errors to their rivals 35.

Suriname, which showed flashes of its true potential throughout the match, had a much better showing on blocks, 12-8 and got a team-high 17 points from Keven Sporkslede, who twisted his left ankle slightly early on in the contest to hamper his movement.

Zefanio Breinburg added 11 for Suriname, which ended bottom of the three-team pool with a 0-2 record and two points after losing to Trinidad and Tobago on Monday night.

Following the match, Joval was quick to admit that his team failed to live up to expectations.

“Compared to last night against T&T, we had a very poor start against Barbados. We made too many service errors and our defence was weak."

Barbadian captain Alain London was pleased with the display. “Tonight we started well and that provided with a good tempo for the rest of the match. We know in these tournaments the team that makes the least mistakes will win each match and we will continue to try and limit our errors as much as possible and play to plan.”’

Michael Ong-A-Kwie, coach of Suriname said his players failed to bring their top game against a very good Barbados team. “We had a good start against T&T and it seems like our players felt it would be the same way against Barbados, but it was not.”

Barbadian coach Niles Ludger was very pleased with his team and expects the players to continue to grow in confidence.

“I was also happy that I was able to give all the players a chance to get a feel of the competition and they all did positive things.”