The United States Virgin Islands (ISV) junior boys team overcame their errors and successfully navigated their way into the semi-finals of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) 19U Volleyball Championships held in Spanish Town, Jamaica.
ISV took on a winless Cayman Islands (CAY) team in the quarter-finals. Though winless, CAY came out poised and ready to pull off the upset of the tournament. They jumped out to an early 3-1 lead causing ISV Head Coach Isaac Raphael to call an early timeout. The message got through as team captain Gabriel Rosa delivered great sets to all his hitters and they produced kill after kill. ISV won the first set comfortably 25-14. The second and third sets were more competitive on the scoreboard, but that was due to the many unforced errors ISV committed in those frames. The Virgin Islands had nine service miscues and eight wayward spikes but managed to come away with 25-21 wins in both sets. Jared Brown was the top scorer with 12 kills, and Logan Rogers had eight kills for the winning team. The win propels ISV into the semi-finals to play the top seed of Pool B, Trinidad & Tobago, on Friday.
In the first match of the day, the Trinidad & Tobago (TTO) girls defeated Curacao (CUR) 25-19, 25-22, 25-12. L’fe Roberts was the top performer with 12 service points and 12 kills for TTO. Meeka Johnson added 16 service points, including seven aces for the winning team. Keziah Basilio scored 11 points on her serve and Sade Rosalia recorded eight kills for CUR.
In the final two matches of the day, Barbados boys dominated Aruba winning 25-9, 25-11, 25-8. Things were not better for Aruba’s girls as host Jamaica was not hospitable to them, cruising to a 25-7, 25-8, 25-5 victory.
The semi-finals are now set in both divisions. ISV boys are up first, taking on a strong Trinidad & Tobago team at 1:00 p.m. AST. ISV girls will be facing Jamaica at 5:00 p.m. AST. The games will be played on Friday at the GC Foster Authorium in Spanish Town, Jamaica.
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Game Schedule – All Times Listed are in Atlantic Standard Time (AST)
Thursday
5:00 p.m. Curacao vs Aruba Women Fifth Place Match
7:00 p.m. Cayman Islands vs Aruba Men Fifth Place Match
Friday
1:00 p.m. Trinidad & Tobago vs US Virgin Islands Men Semi-final Match
3:00 p.m. Barbados vs Trinidad & Tobago Women Semi-final Match
5:00 p.m. U.S. Virgin Islands vs Jamaica Women Semi-final Match
7:00 p.m. Jamaica vs Barbados Men Semi-final Match
Saturday
12:00 p.m. Men Third Place Match
2:00 p.m. Women Third Place Match
4:00 p.m. Women Championship Match
6:00 p.m. Men Championship Match
