T&T, Jamaica make dominant starts

Caribbean Volleyball Championships

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Reigning champions Trinidad and Tobago made a resounding start to their title defence when they swept Guadeloupe in straight sets, in their opening game of the senior women’s Caribbean Volleyball Championships here Wednesday night.

Playing at the National Indoor Sports Centre, they raced to a 25-8, 25-17, 25-14 victory to send a stern warning to their opponents in the eight-team tournament which also serves as a World Championship qualifier.

Krystle Esdelle led T & T to victory

Channon Thompson led the scoring for T&T with 13 points,while the experienced Krystle Esdelle supported with 12 and Sinead Jack, 10.

For Guadeloupe, Sandra Ramier finished with eight points.

“Overall, I’m satisfied with the performance,” said T&T head coach Nicholson Drakes. “We still have one or two errors to clean up, one or two things to make sure we’re on top of.”

He added: “We’re taking it step by step in stages and looking at what we need to deal with, what we need to implement and as the tournament continues we’ll look to make the necessary adjustments.”

Hosts Jamaica, meanwhile, made a winning start to their campaign when they disposed of the US Virgin Islands in equally dominant fasion with a 25-16, 25-18, 25-17 straight sets victory.

They were fired by Tahleia Bishop who pounded eight kills in coming away with 12 points while Sashalee Thomas and Danaisha Moss both counted 10 points apiece. I’tiana Taylor was the leading attacker for the USVI with 12 points.

Head coach Ricardo Chong said the win was not unexpected and was looking forward to the hosts picking up steam.

“I am also expecting the team to get better during the tournament,” he said afterwards.

“There is always a possibility of winning the championships. Trinidad and Tobago looked impressive during their game.

“They have weaknesses that can be exploited but we are going to take it one game at a time.”

In the other matches, Martinique slammed the Bahamas in straight sets 25-15, 25-19, 25-13 while Curacao came from behind to battle to a 23-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 15-11 victory over Dutch rivals Suriname, in a thrilling five-setter.