TT reach volleyball semis

The supporters thought that it would be an early night compared to the two previous evenings after TT started purposefully and served accurately which ensured victory in the first set at 25-22 to take a 1-0 lead for the first time in the competition. The local boys, however, dropped the intensity and the French Caribbean team stepped up their challenge and dominated the game by winning the next two sets at 20-25 and 19-25 to stun the hosts. The defending champions and host team regained the composure they started the match with as they went on to win the fourth set at 25-21. Beaming in confidence after being in this position twice before in as many days, TT closed off the match by winning the fifth set quite comfortably at 15-8.

TT captain Ryan Stewart led the way with 18 points including 17 spikes while Brandon Legall added 16 points (13 spikes).

Martinique`s Stephane Alfa had 17 points, comprising of 15 spikes.

In Group E, Barbados booked a semi-final spot after surprising Jamaica 3-2 (25-18, 17-25, 25-22, 20-25, 16-14). In the fifth set decider, with the winner getting an automatic spot in the semi-final, the Barbadians overcame a five-point deficit and denied the Jamaicans three match points to win at 16-14.

Suriname knocked out Curacao with a 3-1 victory (25-20, 24-26, 25-19, 25-23). Haiti were spoilers as they defeated Bahamas 3-1 (28-26, 25-16, 16-25, 25-19) and knocked them out the competition.

Barbados (Semi-final 1) and TT (Semi-final 2) had to wait until last night results of the matches between Haiti vs Suriname and Jamaica vs Martinique to determine their opponents in today’s semi-finals.

Semi-final 1 will serve off at 5pm and Semi-final 2 will begin two hours later.