T&T’s men’s and women’s Under-19 volleyball teams earned final berths into today’s Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Under-19 Championships at the GC Foster College, Spanish Town, Jamaica on Friday.
Both though had contrasting journeys in their respective semifinals. The men, led by instrumental captain Michael Burkett, cruised to the title match courtesy of a convincing 3-0 victory over the United States Virgin Islands (USVI).
However, the T&T women’s team battled from two sets down to win the match in the fifth and final set, against a team that defeated them in the opening match of the tournament at the same venue.
After beating T&T in the opening match, the Bajans made another bold start to the encounter by taking the opening set 25-21. It was not the start the T&T women were hoping for, but they failed to improve their fortunes in the second set, as they went under for a second time 25-16.
It was almost a replica of the opening match that the women in red, white, and black eventually rebounded from. In the third set, the T&T women battled back to bring the game within one set by claiming the third set 25-23.
Later, they levelled the series at two-apiece when they held off the Bajans 25-22 in the fourth set. In the fifth and final set, the T&T women battled to a 15-13 triumph to seal their entry into today’s final.
Meanwhile, the men in red, white, and black were expected to seal a place in the title match and they did not disappoint. Burkett, who stamped his trademark on the tournament with his hard-hitting spike, played a captain’s role with all his players following his lead.
With a best finish of second position in the championships, the T&T men drew little sweat in brushing aside their USVI counterparts 25-23 for the advantage in the first set. Burkett’s spikes which came from almost ceiling-high at the College gymnasium had set the stage for their entry into the final.
The USVI men, seasoned campaigners in the tourney, tried to stem the flow of easily hit points, but it proved to be their hardest task on the day. The Soca Spikers then moved within close distance to a final berth with a 25-21 triumph in the second set, before they confirmed their right to contest the title match by beating the USVI men in the third set 25-22.