USVI march past Bonaire 

KRALENDIJK, Bonaire, June 22, 2018 – United States Virgin Islands (USVI) made a commanding start to the CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association) Under-23 Women’s Championship here tonight at the Jorge Nicholas Sports Hall, Bonaire.

After Suriname had edged Curacao in a five-set thriller in the opening match of the inaugural tournament, USVI silenced an almost sell-out home crowd with a 25-17, 25-21, 21-9 triumph over Bonaire in a tick over an hour.

Still coach Isaac Raphael was not completely satisfied as he stated: “We did not play as well as we could have, but hopefully we will continue to improve.”

USVI will return to the court first thing tomorrow (9.30 a.m.) and Raphael acknowledged that their battle against Curacao should be very tough.

Captain Khrysti Rosa was also satisfied, but not thrilled and feels that “we need to get stronger for tomorrow.”

“Too nervous. We trained so hard and could not even make passes,” stated Rudi Anthony.

Skipper Jahena Angela was in total agreement with Bonaire’s coach and both are hoping that the players get the nerves out of their system quickly as they have two matches tomorrow.

The hosts will first take the court at 11.30 a.m. to oppose the Arubans, who were on a bye yesterday, and will return at 8 p.m. to tackle Curacao in the fourth and final match of the programme.

The format of this five-team tournament is straight round-robin and the champions will be crowned on Sunday night.

This is the first international competition ever to be staged in the tiny Caribbean island of Bonaire.