Esdelle named MVP as Calypso Spikers top qualifiers

Channon Thompson led the scoring as pre-tournament favourites and reigning five-time Caribbean champions T&T powered past Guadeloupe in straight sets to claim gold medal in Pool A of the Women's World Championship Volleyball first round qualifiers on Sunday night in Paramaribo, Suriname. The Poland-based Thompson finished with 13 points while captain Krystle Esdelle got 11 and Kelly-Ann Billingy, ten as the “Calypso Spikers” won 25-6, 25-14, 25-13 in 59 minutes in the final match of the two-day tournament at the Ismay Van Wilgen Sports Hall. For Guadeloupe, Natacha Clairville had a team-high six points as T&T dominated 26-13 on spikes, 6-4 on blocks and 13-2 on service aces. Esdelle said her team was more focused for the final than any of its previous matches. “We know Guadeloupe is a very determined team and never gives up, so we planned for a tough encounter and wanted to come out very aggressive, and stamp our authority which we did.” Francisco Cruz, T&T's coach, said he was pleased that his team achieved its objective which was to win the group. “It was o r only option,” he added.

 

 

“Today (Sunday), we were focused and limited our mistakes but we still need to work harder and train a lot more to compete against the top teams at the next level.” Guadeloupe captain Isabelle Acina said her team knew it was going to be tough. “The result showed that we have a lot of work to do to get to T&T's level, but as a team we are happy to reach the final and are very satisfied with second spot,” she said. Guadeloupe coach Jean-Louis Delag said he was happy for his team, even though they did not win the gold medal. “T&T played with most of their starters which shows they have respect for us and do not consider us lightly. When we came here, we had hopes of securing the third spot but to play in the final was great and we look forward to the next round,” he said. By winning Pool A, T&T advanced to the second round Group I series involving Anguilla, Honduras and the runner-up of the yet to be played Group E (Jamaica, Barbados, Aruba, Cayman Islands). Guadeloupe, meanwhile, will compete in second round Group L alongside St Kitts/Nevis, Guatemala and the third placed team from the first round Group E qualifiers. To cap off a successful two days for T&T its captain, Esdelle was voted as the “Most Valuable Player” of the qualifiers. Esdelle also captured the “Best Spiker” award while her team-mate Rheeza Grant was the only other player from the gold medal team to snatch individual honours after being voted as “Best Receiver.”

 

 

Guadeloupe captured four awards while host Suriname captured the other two awards. For Guadeloupe, Meliza Bernard-Fayolle won the “Best Blocker” award, Ornella Martol, the “Best Setter,” and libero Severine Jean-Alphonse, the “Best Digger” and “Best Libero” accolades. Hunsel Sandrina of host Suriname was the tournament’s “Best Scorer” award recipient and her countrywoman, Chavelli Wip, the “Best Server”. In the third place play-off, Sandrina Hunsel had a match-high 22 points as Suriname overcame the disappointment of missing out on the gold medal match by sweeping Bahamas in straight sets. With T&T and Guadeloupe already assured of passage to the second round, Suriname secured a 25-23, 25-19, 25-18 win in 71 minutes after trailing 20-23 in the first set, to take the bronze medal. Teenager Kame Sigourney added ten points for Suriname which was without libero Pamela Gilds who left for studies in Holland earlier in the day, while Xaviera Willemsberg and Chavelli Wip chipped in with five points each at the Ismay van Wilgen Sports Hall.

For the short-handed Bahamians, Cheryse Bain topscored with eight points, while captain Krystel Rolle and Tia Charlow got seven apiece. By finishing third, Suriname joined Nicaragua, Bermuda and the winner of Group E (Jamaica, Barbados, Aruba and Cayman Islands) in the second round Group M qualifiers carded for May/June next year from which the top two teams will earn automatic spots to the third round.