Bermuda Finishes Fifth in ECVA Championships
Antigua and Barbuda was taken the distance by Grenada, but came away the winners of the male category of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association [ECVA] Youth Championships, with Bermuda finishing in fifth position.
A spokesperson for the Bermuda team said, “Our first match was against French St. Martin [FSM]. FSM had us in the first two sets [26-24, 25-13] and needed one more to close us out. We fought back hard to win the next two sets (25-20) and than the tie breaker [15-8], giving us our first victory.
“That same day, we went on to face a tall St. Lucia team and started out the same way, falling two sets [27-25, 25-22] but catching up with the next two [25-19, 25-18]. Evin Mosley pulled his quad in the fourth set and Sean Tucker was put in to help support and bring the team back to a victory. We were up in the fifth set but eventually lost 16-14.
“Our next match saw us face a strong team from Grenada, but we seemed to face an even more difficult opponent in the refereeing crew; the team was bewildered and dismayed at some of the calls made. Everyone had a chance to play but we were beaten in three straight sets.
“The subs that came in on the third set did an outstanding job, especially considering the odds. Unfortunately, the loss to Grenada eliminated us from medal contention.
“After that disappointing match, our final match against FSM needed to be a statement, to ourselves more than to our opponents or anyone else. We needed to prove that we were better than what we had played.
“The warm up was not good, but that did not dishearten us. With our middle hitter Jacques De Verteuil out due to a hand injury, Shaun DeCouto now needed to step up and fill the role – a job he did with no hesitation, scoring three points from blocks and five from serves.
“The team stepped out onto the court anxious, but ready. We started off strong and we stayed that way the whole time. Outstanding serving and defense gave us the upper hand and strong attacks by Evin Mosley and Shannon Bothelo drove the victory home.
“The other team had no offensive solution as the defensive coverage from Bermuda captain Brandon Sousa and Libero Sam McKittrick picked up every ball put over by the bewildered FSM team. Utilizing our strength from the right side with Justin Ferreira and Sean Tucker, we attacked from every angle.
“When subs were pulled in at the end of the third set, the game started to turn in favour of FSM, or so they thought. The subs, consisting of Kip, Kaleb, and Andrew, did their best in the tournament to hold the score and see the games through.
“In the final game, our subs,less Andrew Blee, were the ones standing on the court along with their team captain and setter Jeremiah Andrade, who played amazingly the entire tournament, when the victory was finally ours. Congratulations to all the boys for such an astounding match.
“We wish to send a huge thank you to Bermuda’s assistant team coach Brian Amaro and team manager Marcus Smith, who were there for the team heart and soul through this whole process. A huge thanks also to David Sousa, who took time out of his schedule and at his expense in order to join the team and represent as our cheering squad and act as a chaperon. David was there for us in 2011 and again in 2014 and has been a huge support to the boys program.
“We will leave Antigua with nothing but pride at the way we finished this tournament.”
