St Lucia sweeps Antigua & Barbuda to stay alive for finals spot

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, May 12, 2013- Indira Laurencin had a team-high 17 points as Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) champions St Lucia registered a much needed three sets win (25-14, 25-18, 25-15) over regional rivals Antigua & Barbuda in their final round-robin match of the 2014 FIVB Women’s World Championship NORCECA second round Group J qualifiers on Sunday morning.

With the win at the International School of Curacao Auditorium, Willemstad, St Lucia ended with a 2-1 record in pool play and nine points, one behind host Curacao which came up against Belize (five), the only other team in contention to reach the gold medal match, in their final round-robin encounter in the second match on Sunday morning.

At the bottom of the four-team standings without a win from its three matches, but with one point was Antigua & Barbuda.

Laurencin’s tally included 12 kills and four blocks for the St Lucians who entered the match needing a win to keep its hopes of reaching the championship decider alive while captain Natalie Edward added 11, inclusive of eight kills.

Dania Hamilton also got eight points, Tyna Williams six, and Latoya Edward, five for the winners’, who proved too much for their rivals, winning on spikes, 36-16, 6-4 on blocks and 10-4 on service aces.

Naheemah Wilson with seven and the pair of Natasha Best and Reika Michael with four points each were the main contributors for the losers.

Natalie Edward, St Lucia’s captain was very happy with the win which kept her team in with a chance of reaching the final.

“The win provided us with a great chance to qualify for the final and also to move into the third round, but I don’t think we have really played our best match as yet. We lacked the aggression and concentration that we normally play well and for our next match, which will hopefully be the final we need to be more relaxed and enjoy the match,” ended Edward.

Giselle Azar, captain of Antigua & Barbuda first congratulated St Lucia on its win, but at the same time expressed disappointment on her team’s display.

“Our intentions was to come out and get a straight sets win , but we were too complacent from the get go and did not play as aggressive as we needed to.

Azar while admitting that she along with the other senior players in the team fell short in the goals they set for themselves as part of the team, was full of praise for the younger members of the team who played to their best ability.

Florian Combie, coach of St Lucia was quick to point out that he was very grateful for the victory which kept his team in with a chance of reaching the final.

“But for me, my team is still looking for our game and we have to get it right for our final match of the competition, whether it’s the final or the third place encounter,” ended Combie.

Esron Gittens, Antigua & Barbuda coach first paid tribute to his opponents, St Lucia, who he described as formidable rivals.

However, despite the absence of some key players due to injury and work commitments, Gittens said he expected a better showing from his team than what he has seen to date.

“We were guilty of some basic mistakes in our play and had we limited them it would have helped our game a lot.

“Overall, I am proud of the young players in the team for stepping up to this level and giving their all while as a unit we can all take this as a learning experience as we move forward as a team.

Belize (four points), entered the match with a chance to get to the final against Curacao in Sunday’s afternoon session, but needed to beat the host in three straights sets to overhaul St Lucia’s nine points.

The tournament final will be contested between the top two teams at the end of the round-robin series from 7pm on Sunday afternoon while the third placed encounter serves off two hours earlier, with the winner still in with a chance of qualification to the third round.

However, it will only do so as the best third place finisher from all six groups of the second round qualifiers.