The United States Virgin Islands (ISV) girls and boys Under 19 National Volleyball Teams came out strong against Aruba in their opening matches of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) U19 Championships on Sunday, at the GC Foster College Authorium in Spanish Town, Jamaica.
ISV setter Hailey Pierce started the match with two consecutive aces, then missed served. Krystal Eddy got the ball back for ISV with a big solo block. Outside hitter Jayden Gorman’s serve proved to be too much for Aruba as the U.S. Virgin Islands power hitter rattled off four consecutive aces before her serving miscue.
This was the trend for the first two sets as ISV won them both convincingly 25-9; 25-10. The third set started out in the same manner of the first two with ISV sprinting out to a 14-2 lead. Aruba showed some resilience and clawed their way back to only trail by two points 15-13. The Virgin Islands girls righted the ship and won the final set 25-18. Gorman was the top scorer for ISV with 10 attack points and nine aces. Zyia Toussaint added four service aces. Verneeci Caines, Mckaylah Jackson, and Brielle Nestor all registered four kills each for the winning team.
ISV boys were up next, also facing Aruba. The Virgin Islands boys were looking for their first win at these championships in over 10 years. Aruba was coming into this matchup looking to redeem themselves after losing their first match in straight sets to the host Jamaica the night before. The first two sets were very close. However, ISV managed to escape with a 25-20, 25-22 win in both games. ISV could breathe a little more easily in the third set as the changes Head Coach Isaac Raphael made proved beneficial. The Virgin Islands won the final game 25-18. Logan Rogers wowed the crowd with his power after crushing 11 kills and serving nine service aces for ISV. Jared Brown also contributed 14 kills in the win.
Both Virgin Islands teams will be on the court on Monday at the GC Foster Authorium. ISV girls will take on Curacao at 4:00 p.m. AST and the boys will do battle with the host Jamaica at 8:00 p.m. AST.
To view the matches live, click here.
Here is the complete schedule for Monday, July 29, 2024
4:00 p.m. U.S. Virgin Islands vs Curacao GIRLS
6:00 p.m. Trinidad & Tobago vs Barbados BOYS
8:00 p.m. Jamaica vs U.S. Virgin Islands BOYS
