The British Virgin Islands Volleyball Federation (IVB) participated in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association’s (ECVA) Under-23 Women’s Volleyball Championship in Dominica, Sept. 20-24.
IVB, the Olympic code for the British Virgin Islands, is one of nine countries within the Eastern Caribbean participating in this event. St. Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Maarten, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, and Saba comprise Group A. The second group includes Grenada, Anguilla, The British Virgin Islands, and the host, Dominica.
This is a new experience for many of the IVB players. Captain Makala Powell, 18, and Zoe Richards, 16, are the only two of the ten-woman roster with prior international experience. Powell and Richards are the starting outside hitters for IVB. Their setter, Kayla Jacinto, is the youngest member of the team at just 14 years of age. Amam Bispham, 16, anchors the backcourt defense as the starting libero.
This young team started group play against the host, Dominica, on opening night. BVI lost that match (25-19; 22-25; 25-14; 25-19). Kristin Abraham led IVB in scoring with eight points, including seven kill blocks. Richards also added three attack kills and three service points.
In their second match of the tournament, IVB took on Grenada on the second day of the tournament. BVI needed four sets to earn their first win (19-25; 25-22; 25-20; 25-23). Captain Powell took charge with 12 total points, including eight kill attacks. Richards also contributed nine points, all via kill attacks.
IVB needed to win their match against Anguilla to secure their spot in the semi-finals. The first set was tight at the end behind the serving of Lavesha Richardson of Anguilla. When Coach Jason Liburd subbed Richardson into the game, Anguilla was down 24-19. The score was tied at 24 when IVB finally got her out of the service box. The British Virgin Islands did go on to win that set 27-25. BVI also won the next two sets 25-14, 25-10, earning them a spot in the playoffs as the second-place team of Group B.
The women of IVB didn’t have much time to celebrate. A few hours after their win against Anguilla, they would find themselves back on the court facing first place in Group A, undefeated St. Lucia. BVI played hard but proved to be no match for the more experienced St. Lucian team, who won (25-17; 25-21; 25-17).
