T&T women spikers whip J’ca to book CAZOVA title shot

T&T’s women’s volleyballers sealed a place in the final of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Senior Championships on Thursday with a 3-0 victory over regional powerhouse and defending champions Jamaica in the semifinal at the Kendal GL Isaacs National Gymnasium in New Providence, Nassau, Bahamas.

The result means the women in red, white, and black will face Barbados in the final on Saturday at 5.30 pm. Despite being without key players Channon Thompson and Krystle Esdelle for a suspected COVID-19 contraction, the T&T women lifted themselves above the challenge to beat Guadeloupe in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

And against their regional nemesis, the T&T women seemed anything but bothered in the encounter, first disposing of the Jamaicans 25-11 in the opening set.

Later, the Calypso Spikers extended their advantage with a 25-19 triumph in the second set. And thoughts of fightback by the Jamaicans in the third and final set never materialised, as the T&T women romped to the final with a 25-9 victory in the final set.

Meanwhile, the T&T men’s volleyballers reached a disturbing landmark on Thursday morning when they were beaten by regional rival Jamaica 3-1 in the quarterfinals.

A team that celebrated titles in 2010, 2014, and 2017, among ten consecutive years of winning titles, the men in red, white, and black exited the tournament medal-less after the Jamaicans flexed their muscles from start to finish.

However, it was the Daynte Stewart-led T&T team to draw first blood in the encounter, courtesy of a 32-30 victory in the opening set, a game that lasted as short as 33 minutes. However, things went awry thereafter.

The Calypso Spikers, relegated to the quarterfinals after finishing in the third position after the four-team round-robin series in Pool B with an inferior 1-2 record, then fumbled in the second set, as their counterparts battled to a 25-17 triumph that knotted up the scores at one apiece.

In the third set, the Jamaicans tried to fashion one of the great comebacks in the sport by holding off their counterparts for a second time, 26-24, in a set that lasted a minute shy of a half hour.

Still, with a lead that was not too far off in terms of a comeback at 2-1, the T&T men surrendered in the end after only 19 minutes of action.

The Jamaicans cruised to a 25-17 victory, advancing to the round of four teams (semifinals) in the tournament.