T&T Under-19 men’s volleyballers delivered a commanding performance that earned them an opening 3-0 win over the Cayman Islands as action continued in the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Under-19 Championships at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town, Jamaica, on Sunday night.
Led by captain Michael Burkett, who smashed the ball over the net at will to award the T&T team some much-needed points, the men in red, white, and black benefited from this strategy all night. Burkett led an all-round performance that handed T&T the win in the first set, 25-18.
However, Noah Hammad then attempted to lead a desperate comeback for the Cayman Islands in the second set, but there was very little to be done to curb the rampage caused by the young T&T men at that time.
The T&T team’s best finish at the tournament came in 2015, which was a silver medal; however, the T&T men have claimed the bronze medal on three occasions.
On Sunday, though, Burkett and his team were attempting to change that by taking the 2-0 advantage with a 25-13 triumph in the second set.
Trailing 2-0, the Cayman Islands men mounted a desperate effort to claim the third set, 26-24, to push the game to a fourth.
Any chance of Cayman Islands forcing a fifth and deciding set was denied by the Curtis Burkett-coached T&T, who came away with a 25-20 win to claim the victory in Group B ahead of their second match against Barbados, which was cancelled for last night.
In Sunday’s opening men’s Under-19 match, a Group A match-up, the US Virgin Islands eased past Aruba 25-20, 25-22, and 25-18 to set up a group decider with host Jamaica, who defeated Aruba 25-21, 25-22, and 25-20 in Saturday’s first match in Group A.
Today, Cayman Islands and Barbados men will conclude round-robin play with their final match in Group B, at the end of which the top team in each pool will advance to the semifinals automatically, while the second and third-placed teams will contest cross-over quarterfinals to determine the remaining semifinalists.
Calypso Girls hunt for their first win against Jamaica
T&T U-19 women which is led by coach The Deon Hutchinson will be hoping to rebound from their opening loss to Barbados when they meet host Jamaica in their final Group A round-robin match at 8 pm tonight.
Both teams will enter the match with 0-1 win-loss records after defeat at the hands of the Barbadians, who cemented an automatic semifinal spot as Group A winners after getting the better of Jamaica 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-21 on Sunday night to end with a 2-0 record after they defeated T&T in Saturday’s curtain-raiser 25-17, 25-21, 16-25, 25-13.
Yesterday in Group A, defending champions the US Virgin Islands, who swept Aruba 25-9, 25-10, and 25-15, sealed the other automatic semifinal as Group B winners when they defeated against Curacao, 25-12, 25-10, 25-12 while the latter plays their second match today at 6 pm against Aruba.
RESULTS
Under-19 Boys
July 27
Group A: Jamaica bt Aruba 25-21, 25-22, 25-20
July 28
Group A: USVI bt Aruba 25-20, 25-22, 25-18
Group B: T&T bt Cayman Islands 25-18, 25-13, 24-26, 25-20
Girls
July 27:
Group A: Barbados bt T&T 25-17, 25-21, 16-25, 25-13
July 28:
Group B: USVI bt Aruba 25-9, 25-10, 25-18
Group A: Barbados bt Jamaica 23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-21
Today’s matches
Girls
Curacao vs Aruba, 6 pm
Jamaica vs T&T, 8 pm
Boys
Cayman Islands vs Barbados, 4 pm
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