St Lucia rallies to take Bronze

ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 27, 2024:  St Lucia crossed the line over Grenada, to take the bronze medal match, 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 15-8), in the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex.

In a ding down tussle for the third spot, Grenada charged out to win the first set. But St Lucia restored parity, taking the second, and was in the ascendancy at the end of the third. However, Grenada refused to give in and ran away with the fourth.

With the sets levelled at 2-2, Grenada could retain the momentum from the previous set, allowing St Lucia to take the tie – breaker.

Havern Brown – Head Coach of St Lucia, although he would have preferred the gold medal, was content with the bronze. “As I said from the start, we had a lot of young guys, so for them to get a bronze, I am satisfied”. Brown said. He however, accepted that there is a lot to be done, for his unit to be once again the powerhouse in the ECVA region.

Meanwhile, Captain- Joseph Clercent, and the elder statesman of the St Lucia team, expressed that it was his honour to bring along the young players. “It gives me great pleasure to have these young players playing around me. I am here to teach them, and I am here to show them”, Clercent reiterated.

Meanwhile, finishing with three wins and three losses, Grenada’s Head Coach- Peer Nassier, gave the overall performance of his team, as seven out of ten. According to Nassier: “We tried very hard throughout the tournament, but it was the consistency that faltered us a little bit, but we continued to improve”. Nassier felt that the improvements were incremental, resulting in a reduction in the number of errors in the matches.

Similarly, Grenada’s Captain- Darren Oxford, believed that they can leave the championships with their heads held high. “We have a lot of things to be grateful for and this experience is for us to go back to the drawing board and come better next time”, Oxford assessed.

Next up is the big one, as Antigua and Barbuda face Dominica in the gold medal match.