St. Lucia stands firm against Antigua/Barbuda

Oranjestad, St. Eustatius,  July 10, 2014 - St. Lucia defeated Antigua/Barbuda  in straight sets  25-20, 25 -17, and 25-18 in a game that was a repeat of the 2012 ECVA female finals.  The match was the third contest of  opening day  of the (ECVA) Senior Women Championship.

St. Lucia out performed Antigua in every scoring department. In Spiking it was 30 to 20 in blocking it was 13 to 4 while St. Lucia served up 10 aces to Antigua's 5.

Coach Florian Combie of St. Lucia attributed the win to his girls' ability to remain composed and impose their  will on the game. "Antigua is always a team to look out for, so we were mindful to stick to the game plan. At one point they established a six point lead and all credit to my girls who were able to keep cool, picked up a momentum and kept it to the end" he intimated.

Team Captain Natalie Edward agreed that their exposure to teams like Costa Rica that play a much faster game help them to improve their own game. "At that level it's all about blocking and passing and we learnt a few things from them" she admitted.

On the opposite end Coach Esron Gittens of Antigua felt as if his girls let the game slip. "We failed to make adjustments in certain key areas and all credit to St. Lucia who took advantage of that and never allowed us to get back into the game" he surmised.

 "We came in somewhat relaxed and I believe we underestimated our opponents and paid the price. Now we have to regroup and get back that motivation and energy to stay in the competition" said captain Vanessa Burke.

On the individual score sheet Tyna William of St. Lucia stood above all with 16 points. She had 7 kills, 5 blocks and 4 aces. Captain Natalie Edwards played the support role with 10 points. Sharon Payne with 8 points led all scorers on the losing side.

St. Lucia Next match is against British Virgin Islands (BVI) while Antigua will meet French St. Martin.