– Vanguard upset Strikers in female fina
Royston Alkins
A small-sized crowd witnessed a keenly contested female volleyball final between Castrol Strikers and Vanguard VC at the Guyana National Gymnasium, last evening.
The game, which was interrupted by blackout Sunday, had to be replayed at the behest of the organizers.
Castrol, who won the first set Sunday, seemed a bit relaxed and disappointingly gifted Vanguard the first set 25 – 19.
Castrol paid for their mistakes as Vanguard pounced and took the second set which was more of the same.
Vanguard took the lead early on and never looked back from there.
They then doubled the lead midway through the second set and continued their aggressive play to become eventual winners at 25 – 18.
The final, however, was marred with a bit of miscommunication. It was reported that the game would have resumed from the second set because of the power outage that caused the interruption. That decision however, was overturned by the organizers who later informed the teams of a rule stating that games must be replayed once there is an interruption lasting more than four hours. The Castrol Strikers team was taken aback by that decision.
Meanwhile, winning captain Odile Broomes, speaking after the game said that she was obviously overjoyed because of her team’s success. “We haven’t been training but it’s nice to get some game time. It’s the first tournament of the year and I would like to thank everyone who supported us.”
Broomes, a national player, said that she was excited about the upcoming Demerara Association senior volleyball league which is set to be launched sometime in the near future.
“We are supposed to have a league starting soon. It will be good since it will be the first and it will give us much more playing time,” she added.
The main event of the evening, the West Bank versus Georgetown grudge match between Young Achievers and Castrol Strikers, lived up to all expectations. Achievers, who have been one of the most consistent teams in locally, eventually defeated Strikers to cement their supremacy. Achievers started aggressively and took an early 8-3 lead. They never let up, leading at 13 – 5 midway through the first set. Strikers tried to pull things back but Achievers blocked their efforts, eventually winning the first set 25 – 12.
The West Bank men started the second set strongly with a slam and three blocks going up 4-1. Strikers won an extended rally to win their ninth point but that was the only shining moment for the Georgetown team as Achievers took the second set 25 – 12.
Strikers came out positive in the third set to lead 4-1 but continuous mistakes allowed Achievers to claw their way back and take the third set and the championship. Strikers showed more fight in the third set, holding Achievers at 8-7, 9 all, 10 all and 12 all before Achievers produced several blocks to take a four point lead at 16 – 12. The writing seemed to be on the wall as Achievers pulled away at 20-16. Strikers however fought back to close the lead and tie the game at 21 all but Achievers held their nerve to take the set at 25 -23.
Achievers captain, Creston Rodney after his team’s success had this to say: “This is the first tournament for the year and we are thankful for the win.”
Rodney, one of the country’s top volleyball players also spoke about the DVA’s Senior League. He added:“I’m looking to see much more programs for female volleyball, the leagues, youth development and more volleyball being played in schools. I want senior players to reach out to the younger players so that we can carry on the tradition,” he added.
President of the Guyana Volleyball Federation, John Flores said that he was heartened at the sight of a number of young players he saw participating in the tournament. He asked that the older players encourage the younger ones and asked the senior pros to encourage the kids to come out more since they are the future of volleyball in Guyana. The president also took the opportunity to female strikers who were on the bitter end of misunderstanding the rule.
