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PLEASANTVILLE, San Fernando, Trinidad, July 8,
2022 - US Virgin Islands made it two wins from
as many matches in the 2021 Caribbean Zonal
Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Youth Girls (Under-19)
Championship when they came-from-behind to rally
past Martinique 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-23)
in a clash of unbeaten teams at the Southern
Regional Indoor Sports aArena (SRISA).
With the victory, the US Virgin Islands moved
into sole possession of top spot on the four-team
round-robin table with nine points, three ahead
of Martinique (1-1), who after stunning
defending champion Suriname in the pool opener
on Thursday was brought back down to earth while
Trinidad and Tobago are winless and without a
point from one match each.
At the end of the four-team round-robin series,
the top two teams will play for the gold medal
and third and fourth will contest the bronze
playoff.
Speaking after his team's first loss in two
matches, Martinique coach Wilham Lebel said his
team played a very inconsistent match which
resulted in their defeat.
"We had a good beginning, but after the first
set we fell apart in our passing and receiving
which was the main reason for our defeat.
Team captain, Marie Marajo-Breton added, "I feel
very bad for my team because I know we can play
much better than we did today. But we still have
one more match to play before the final day and
I know we will come back stronger."
Isaac Raphael, coach of the US Virgin Islands
said he was very proud of the effort from his
players considering that the captain of the
senior Alek-Wek Raphael suffered a tournament-ending
injury in the Under-21 match against Suriname
earlier in the day.
"Our group is a small close-knit group and while
she may not be part of this team they all looked
up to her, so I think came out with the mindset
to win this one for her,
"The positive thing about this group as well is
that they are now in the developmental stage and
I know that they will get better as time goes
one."
Team captain Jahyra Thomas added, "We had a
rough start but as the game went along our
performance improved. |
