Trinidad & Tobago
Led by captain Esdelle‘s 22 points, T&T registered a 25-16, 25-19, 25-19 triumph in 72 minutes at the Richard “Ranchee” Charles Gymnasium, Kingshill, St Croix, US Virgin Islands. Kelly-Anne Billingy chipped in with 15 points and Channon Thompson, nine for the “Calypso Spikers” who out-blocked Barbados 7-6 and dominated on service aces, 10-1.
For Barbados, Shari Matthews had a team-high 15 points and was also the lone player in double-figure scoring.
The title was also the fourth straight for T&T‘ Cuban-born coach Francisco “Panchi” Cruz, who took over the team in 2006. T&T’s first senior team triumph came in 1996 in USVI and is now within one of equalling the Barbadians, six triumphs.
Speaking after the match, Esdelle said even though the opponents throughout the tournament considered by many as weak her team had to remain on the job at hand.
“Barbados and T&T over the years have fought many tough battles so we knew the match was going to be tough and we prepared for that, stuck to our game plan and came out on top in the end.”
Thonya Joseph, captain of the Barbados team and six-time winners first congratulated T&T.
“For me T&T has the best team in the Caribbean, they are excellent athletes and great opponents”.
“On the other hand, we fell short on our service receive and while we went into the match with our own tactics, it seemed as though T&T had an answer for everything.”
Earlier on, in the third placed match, USVI won 25-20, 25-21, 25-23 over Jamaica in 74 minutes to pick up a first ever medal to the delight of their home supporters led by Valissia Brathwaite tallied 14 points and 13 from captain Sacha Gumbs.
For Jamaica captain Shedelky Hamilton-Barnes had 15 and Lecia Brown, ten in the loss.
On Saturday night, in the semifinals, T&T scored a 25-16, 25-23, 25-24 victory over host US Virgin Islands. Barbados defeated Jamaica, also in straight sets in its semifinal, 25-17, 25-20, 25-15,
Individual awards:
Best Server: Valissia Brathwaite (USVI)
Best Spiker: Shari Matthews (Barbados)
Best Blocker: Meliza Bernard-Fayolle (Guadeloupe)
Best Server: Valissia Brathwaite (USVI)
Best Digger: Laval Sands (Bahamas)
Best Setter: Melissa Simmonds (USVI)
Best Receiver: Severine Jean-Alphonse (Guadeloupe)
Best Libero: Severine Jean-Alphonse (Guadeloupe)
Most Valuable Player: Krystle Esdelle (T&T)
