Jamaica – Suriname
Jamaica registered a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-21) over Suriname in the nightcap of the first day of action at the Alfred Sangster Auditorium. Earlier in the evening, Nicaragua had scored an easy 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-4) victory over Bermuda.
In the morning matches, Nicaragua overcame Suriname in four sets (28-26, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23) while Jamaica beat Bermuda 25-11, 25-16, 25-8.
With their 2-0 win-loss records the 10th ranked Nicaragua and the 12th placed Jamaica in the current NORCECA Rankings are both out of reach for any of the other two competitors with their 0-2 results.
“I am very happy for the victory because we have put a lot of work to achieve this,” said Gatasheu Bonner, the coach of Jamaica. “Our serving and blocking was the difference today and we have worked very hard in those two areas. The girls executed our game plan to win this important match for us.”
“I am elated with the victory,” said Shedeiky Hamilton, the captain of Jamaica. “It is the first time we qualify to the third round and it means a lot to our team. Our blocking was the key for us.”
Eric Aikman, the coach of Suriname was disappointed about losing the first set and the match.
“We gave away the first set,” he said. “That’s the set we needed to win. After that the confidence went down. Volleyball is a mental game and you have to be mentally strong to succeed. They lost the game in their heads.”
To read more news from this competition click on NORCECA Women’s Second Round Qualifiers.
