Players of El Salvador celebrate
St Lucia and Haiti both show 1-1 mark keeping alive their chances of competing for the first place and a ticket to the third phase of the qualification process next year.
The team that finishes second still has an opportunity to advance if qualifies as one of the four best runner-ups of the six tournaments scheduled this year.
In Sunday’s morning action, El Salvador meets Haiti while St Lucia goes against winless St Kitts and Nevis to complete the preliminary phase.
St Lucia 3, Haiti 1
St Lucia got their campaign off to a winning start with a 3-1(26-28, 25-15, 25-20, 25-20) triumph over Haiti. The Haitians came out of the blocks blazing and took the first set but the St Lucians responded with some good passing, fluid attacks, kills and blocks of their own to take next three sets. The home team’s resurgence was led by their ace player Joseph Clercent who scored 27 points followed by Julian Bissette with 19. Leading the Haitian’s scoring was Fitz Emmanuel Mabou who registered 21 points, in a losing cause.
El Salvador 3, St Kitts and Nevis 1
El Salvador sent an early warning signs that they too mean business by downing St Kitts and Nevis 3-1 (25-27, 25-18, 25-17, 25-15). The more experienced El Salvador re-engergised and re-grouped after losing the first set to establish their superiority in all facets of the match. The top scorers for El Salvador were David Vagras who had 16 points and Franscisco Hernandez with 15. For St Kitts and Nevis, Shawn Seabrooks registered 19 points and St Clair Hodge had 18. The win by the El Salvadorians set up a mouth-watering, edge of your seat encounter in the night capper later today, as the Central Americans meet the host St Lucia, who also recorded a 3-1 triumph over Haiti.
Haiti 3, St Kitts and Nevis 0
Haiti unleashed their fury on an unresponsive St Kitts and Nevis 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-11) to claim their first victory. The efficient Haitians finished their job in just 58 minutes. Haiti, who lost to St Lucia in their opening outing, avenged that defeat on the Kittians, thus condemning to their second successive defeat. St Kitts and Nevis fell apart as the injury bug invaded their line-up, as team captain Steadroy Collins suffered a knee injury and St Clair Hodge went down with cramps. Haiti’s Fritz Emmanuel Mabou registered 22 points, while Senel Dupuy added 10 to aid the Haitians cause.
El Salvador 3, St Lucia 1
El Salvador kept their winning streak intact when they outlasted St Lucia 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 26-24) in match four on Saturday. The close encounter kept the home fans at the edge of their seats, as they wooed their team on with every point scored, or at the blocks at the net. But that was at times subdued by the regular scoring of the El Salvadorians. The top hand for El Salvador was Franscisco Hernandez with 17 points, while David Vagras contributed 11. For St Lucia, Joseph Clercent had 21 points and Julian Bissette accounted for 13.
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