T&T’s senior men’s volleyball team swept past reigning Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) champions, Suriname in three straight sets to finish 11th out of 12 teams when the 14th Men’s Pan American Cup continued at Colima Mexico, yesterday.
Led by captain Akim Bushe, T&T won 25-12, 25-21, 25-16 in 71 minutes in a clash of teams that ended winless (3-0) in their respective round-robin pools match.
For the Gideon Dickson-coached T&T men, Ryan Stewart top-scored with 19 points, inclusive of 14 spikes, two blocks and three aces while Marlon "Waldo" Phillip added 11, while Akim Bushe got eight, Brandon Legall seven, and Joel Theodore, five.
Suriname players failed to reach double-digits with Marc Flu scoring a team-high seven points, Zefanio Breinburg and David Pinas, six each and Clyde Fraser five while captain Keven Sporkslede only scored three, his lowest output in the tournament.
Overall, T&T outscored Suriname 37-19 on spikes, 7-0 on aces and also committed fewer errors, 18-23, but was outscored on blocks, 8-12.
On Tuesday in its final round-robin match, T&T suffered a 22-25, 14-25, 22-25 defeat at the hands of Peru in a clash of winless Pool B teams.
T&T got 13 points from Stewart, which was highlighted by 11 kills, and, Theodore added ten.
In general, it was an inconsistent display from T&T, which outscored Peru 9-8 on blocks, but was second best on attacks (33-48) and aces (2-3), while committing more errors than the winners as well, 21 to 14.
Mexico topped the pool after a 25-23, 25-23, 251-0 defeat of Puerto Rico to end with a 3-0 record and certain of a semifinal spot, while the losers ended 2-1 and will contest the quarterfinals against Chile.
In Tuesday's opening match, Cuba swept Suriname 25-11, 25-15, 25-10 to top Pool A with a perfect 3-0 record and earned the second automatic semifinal spot while its opponent ended winless.
Two-time reigning champion Argentina outclassed Canada 25-17, 25-22, 25-21 to finish 2-1 in Pool A to set up a quarterfinal with the USA.
And in Pool C, Chile brushed aside Guatemala 25-14, 25-17, 25-11 in Pool C to win the group with a 3-0 record as well, and secured a quarters date with Puerto Rico, while the USA defeated the Dominican Republic, 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 to end 2-1.
The Guatemalans were also beaten in all three of their matches, however, they won two sets to end with a superior points coefficient ratio of .222, and will contest the playoffs for positions seventh to tenth along with the three third-placed pools teams, ahead of T&T (.111) and Suriname (0.000).
The tournament serves as the first stage competition for the qualification to the XXIV Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games 2022 and to the XIX Pan American Games 2023.
Results
Monday
Pool A
Argentina bt Suriname 25-10, 25-19, 25-12
Cuba bt Canada 25-19, 25-20, 25-19
Pool B
Puerto Rico bt T&T 23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-15
Mexico bt Peru 25-15, 28-26, 21-25, 25-22
Pool C
Dom Rep bt Guatemala 36-38, 25-21, 25-19, 19-25, 15-13
Chile bt USA 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 25-19
Tuesday
Pool A
Cuba bt Suriname 25-11, 25-15, 25-20
Argentina bt Canada 25-17, 25-22, 25-21
Pool B
Peru bt T&T 25-22, 25-14, 25-22
Mexico bt Puerto Rico 25-23, 25-23, 25-18
Pool C
Chile bt Guatemala 25-14, 25-17, 25-11
USA bt Dom Rep 25-20, 25-19, 25-20