St Maarten edges Antigua in spectacular five sets  

ROSEAU, DOMINICA, Sept 22, 2023: St Maarten enhanced their chances of a semi-final place with a hard fought 3-2( 20-25, 25-15, 17-25, 25- 21, 17-15) at the expense of Antigua and Barbuda, in  Pool A of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Championships, here at the Massacre Indoor Facility.

With one match remaining for St Maarten in the preliminary phase, they are on a 2: 1 win/loss ratio.

On the other hand, Antigua and Barbuda is winless from their three previous matches, with one match in hand, as Pool A winds down.

Welcoming the win for St Maarten was Assistant Coach- Dimitri Deauperthuy, who philosophized: “Nothing that is worth having is easy and adversity has prepared us for what we expect to meet in the next round”.

In his assessment of the nervy win, Deauperthuy noted, “ We have been having problems passing the ball… For this game, passing was not too much an issue, it was just finishing, so hopefully that will just transition into the next match and into the semi-finals, once we get a place”.

And, in spite of their third straight defeat, Head Coach of the Antigua and Barbuda team- Rosemarie Simon, praised the efforts of her team.

“ Overall my team played a tough game… They played hard from the get go, I cannot complain about their effort given here today because we came with a mentality to win the game; we played strong but at the end of the day, we did not win”, Simon explained.

Pool B action is next as Anguilla enters the fray against Grenada.