UMAG, Croatia, CMC – St. Lucia, hampered by travel delays and a lack of sleep, crashed to a straight sets defeat against Latvia, in their opening match of the FIVB Under-21 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Umag, Croatia on Thursday.
Agustin Faulkner and Coen Caesar were no match for Edvarts Buivids and Pekmanis Reinis as the St. Lucians crumbled in just 24 minutes 21-4, 21-13.
“We tried to play our best,” Caesar said. “But we didn’t even have a chance to warm up.”
The St. Lucian players experience difficulties in getting to Umag in time for their Thursday morning match-up.
They left home on Tuesday but got stuck in London on Wednesday morning.
“We had to wait for a flight to Croatia and couldn’t find a hotel in London,” Faulkner said.
“… We finally flew to Zagreb and after a long bus ride we arrived in Umag.”
The boys arrived at the match venue in time to change into their sport gear but never recovered from a crushing first set loss.
It is the first time a team from Saint Lucia qualified for the U-21 World Championships.
