ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 27, 2024: Female referees- Monique Martis and Chesley Augustine Antigua inked their names in the annals of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA), when they were the two who officiate in the 2024 Men’s Final.
The historic occasion came in Senior Men’s Championships at the YMCA Sports Complex, as it was the first that two female referees were officiating in a Men’s gold medal match.
Delighted that they were part of a first, they expressed their views with a sense of gratitude, humility and honour.
Monique Martis
“It felt very honouring, because in my ten years as a referee, it is the first time I was actually paired up with another female, so that was a happy moment for me”, Martis said.
Martis however revealed that she felt some jitters knowing the importance of the match, its intensity and the raucous crowd.
“Once the match started and I did what I had to do, everything got easy, I felt calm and relaxing. All in all, it was a great honour and we both enjoyed and we did what we had to do at our best”, Martis commented
Chesley Augustine
“I am honoured, this is the second time refereeing a Men’s Final. The progress is there and I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of this historic accomplishment”, she related.
Not moved by the magnitude of a Men’s Final, Augustine said she kept her poise.
“You are in Antigua and Barbuda, home country, you know everyone was there for the home team, but I was not overawed by what was going on around me, because I had to concentrate on the match, shut out the noises and do the best in the most impartial manner”, she commented.
Augustine who has two years of refereeing under her belt, noted that she never envisaged herself in that position.
Augustine who recently captained the St Marteen team in the women’s segment of the 2024 Senior ECVA Championships, revealed: “I always wanted to be player, but I now realise that age and the body is not keeping up, so am pursuing a different direction in Volleyball”.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 27, 2024: Antigua and Barbuda withstood any challenge thrown by Dominica, to walk off the court at the YMCA Sports Complex, as gold medallist of the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships.
In a final filled with twists and turns, ebbs and flows, Antigua and Barbuda won 3-1(25-18, 17-25, 25-18, 25-15).
The win was more than gold for Antigua and Barbuda, as they also earned the right to represent the ECVA at the next Continental Championships.
Playing unbeaten after six matches, a pleased Head Coach of the Antigua and Barbuda team- Karl Williams dedicated the title to the “people of Antigua and Barbuda”.
Williams disclosed that the mission to reach as winners started three months ago.
“This started in August, we had our travails but we stuck it out and here we are celebrating tonight”, the Antigua and Barbuda Head Coach related.
Joining him in the praising the efforts of his team, was Captain- Adrian Constant.
“It was a lot getting here; we had a lot of things to deal with and as a group we stuck it out, we stayed together. We lost players on the way, but we did it again, that is retain the title”, Constant commented.
Although losing when it mattered most- Head Coach of Dominica- Brian Gavlas bestowed superlatives on his players.
“This team is a great bunch of guys. They evolved throughout the tournament to the end. I am proud of them and we were prepared to give a good show, but some situations happened and preventing us from doing it”, Galvas expounded.
He thinks that his team was a better that what was unveiled in the title match.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 27, 2024: St Lucia crossed the line over Grenada, to take the bronze medal match, 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 15-8), in the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex.
In a ding down tussle for the third spot, Grenada charged out to win the first set. But St Lucia restored parity, taking the second, and was in the ascendancy at the end of the third.
However, Grenada refused to give in, and ran away with the fourth.
With the sets levelled at 2-2, Grenada could retain the momentum from the previous set, allowing St Lucia to take the tie – breaker.
Havern Brown – Head Coach of St Lucia, although he would have preferred the gold medal, was contented with the bronze.
“As I said from the start, we had a lot of young guys, so for them to get a bronze, I am satisfied”. Brown said.
He however, accepted that there is a lot of to be done, for his unit to be once again the powerhouse in the ECVA region.
Meanwhile, Captain- Joseph Clercent, and the elder statesman of the St Lucia team, expressed that it was his honour to bring along the young players.
“It gives me great pleasure to have these young players, playing around me. I am here to teach them and I am here to show them”, Clercent reiterated.
Meanwhile, finishing with three wins and three losses, Grenada’s Head Coach- Peer Nassier, gave the overall performance of his team, as seven out of ten.
According to Nassier: “We tried very hard throughout the tournament but it was the consistency that faltered us a little bit, but we continued to improve”.
Nassier felt that the improvements were incremental, resulting in the reduction in the number of errors in the matches.
Similarly, Grenada’s Captain- Darren Oxford, believed that that they can leave the championships with their heads held high.
“We have a lot of things to be grateful for and this experience is for us to go back to the drawing board and come better next time”, Oxford assessed.
Next up is the big one, as Antigua and Barbuda faces Dominica in the gold medal match.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 27, 2024: Keeping calm when things were against them, Antigua and Barbuda was able to carve out their destiny, to close out St Lucia, and reach the final of 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex.
In a battle of wits and poise, Antigua and Barbuda came first, trumping 3-1(25-22, 16-25, 25-21, 27-25).
It was a not clinical performance by the Antiguans, as they extended their unbeaten run in the championships to five successive wins.
Appraising his team’s performance in the semi-finals, Karl Williams, the Antigua and Barbuda Head – Coach was cautious, noting that the mission is still incomplete.
“We played a very team in St Lucia, we didn’t expect it to be easy; It wasn’t easy, but most importantly, was the victory. We are half way there, one more game to go, then we would have completed the mission”, Williams related.
Heading into the title match, Williams opined, “We expect to come and represent; we expect to come and play our game and as long as we can play our game, we will be successful”.
For St Lucia’s Captain- Joseph Clercent, it was a match that they lost, rather than they were beaten.
“We lost the game in our attack and we had a few errors in our blocking; we had relatively good passing in the game, so we needed more consistency in our attack. We did not clean up our errors enough or we would have won that game”, Clercent analysed.
Antigua and Barbuda awaits the winner of the other semi-final, that features Dominica and Grenada.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 27, 2024: Covering all their bases, Dominica put together an efficient performance to blank Grenada, and waltz into the final of the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex.
Winning 3-0(25-18, 25-19, 25-23), meant that Dominica chalked up their fifth win in as many matches.
Dominica thus will play Antigua and Barbuda in the decisive match.
At the stake is the opportunity to be crowned ECVA champions, with the higher stake being the organization’s representatives at the next Continental Championships.
With a place in the final assured, Dominica’s Manager- Ithoma James said that patience was the mantra in getting past Grenada, who deemed is a “balanced team”.
“We took our time. We made sure that we did everything well; We have a few players that are really not known yet but we can go to them every time that we need points and we were very good at executing”, James informed.
James believes his team plans to take that same tenacity and will to win, we they oppose Antigua and Barbuda.
Gracious in their defeat, Grenada’s Assistant Coach- Javin Noel thought that his team lacked the fight needed in a crucial match such as a semi-final.
“Both teams came to fight, both teams came into win, but at the end of the day it is the team who wanted it more”, Noel conceded.
Despite not reaching the final, Noel related, “This team has come a long way and they have definitely improved”.
The Assistant Coach opined that in general, the sport of Volleyball is an upward trajectory in Grenada.
But all is not lost for Grenada, as they St Lucia in the bronze medal match that precedes the Final.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 26, 2024: Dominica finished the preliminary round of the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex, by topping Pool B.
A painless 3-0(25-7, 25-5, 25-7) win over Saba, saw Dominica ending with a 4:0 win/ loss ratio.
In sheering dominance, Dominica allowed Saba into the match, as they executed their plays with consummate ease.
In his assessment of his team’s final preliminary round match, Dominica’s Head Coach- Brian Galvas said: “We executed, we put a lot of pressure on the team today and that was reflective in the score. If you can control your own side and can execute, you have a really good chance against any side”.
Ahead of the semi-finals, Gavlas added: Our intention coming here was to make the playoff round and we accomplished that; our intention is to get better after each match”.
But whilst Dominica glowed in all matches in the preliminary round, for Saba, it was the reverse, as they lost all four matches.
This tale left Saba’s Head Coach- Kemaul Lee stating: “Throughout the tournament, we had some patches where we played well, especially against Anguilla, but we were just not consistent with the fundamentals of the game”.
Lee, however, assured that work will be done in Saba to ensure that a better showing is had in ensuing championships.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 25, 2024: Bermuda completed their sojourn in the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex, with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-12, 25-13) win over the British Virgin Islands.
It meant that the Bermudans ended the championships with a 2:2 win/ loss ratio.
Summing up his team’s efforts, Head Coach of Bermuda- Michael Smith assessed: “I thought the tea played really well…We had a solid game plan coming into the tournament, just wanting work on the fundamentals, play our game, as simple game of Volleyball and I think the guys really did that”.
Looking to the future of Volleyball in Bermuda, Smith proffered: “We have a bunch of young guys coming up, their first time here, so they know what they are up against, they can go back, we would look at films and see what we need to improve on”,
On the other hand, it the British Virgin Islands, who had no wins from their four matches, but their Head Coach- Stephen Payne believes they can fix that in the very near future.
Payne thumbed, “Technically, we need to be more sound and more consistent”, but believed that in the very short term, and with the right programmes based on analyses, they will be turning the corners.
Meanwhile, Mikey Joseph, the British Virgin Islands’ Co- Captain, also sees positivity ahead.
“What we have to do is having that mindset of a higher level of play. We have been up and down, but now that a lot of the younger guys have had that experience, we will be reminding them to keep that mindset, keep that mindset”, Joseph projected.
Bermuda finished third in Pool A, while the winless British Virgin Islands ended in fifth place in the five- team pool.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 26, 2024: It started as a battle between the unbeaten teams Pool A of the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex.
But when the last point was scored, it was Antigua and Barbuda that kept the spotless run intact. with a 3-1 (25-13, 20-25, 18-25, 22-25) over Grenada.
Antigua and Barbuda finished top of the pool, with Grenada- second, as both head into the semi- final.
Analysing his team’s performance versus Grenada, Head Coach of the Antigua and Barbuda- Karl Williams, it was that time to make a “statement”.
“We came out to stamp our authority… We came out to make a statement… It started out with the statement but somewhere along the line in Volleyball sometimes things happen, but I am happy for the victory” Williams assured.
The Antigua and Barbuda Head Coach, is looking forward to the new challenge when they play in the semi-finals.
Accepting that his team was beaten on the night, Peer Nasseir- Head Coach of Grenada conceded: “Hats off to Antigua they were able to serve us off the court. We struggled with our service reception and from that they were able to make runs and win the match.
Going into the semi-finals against Dominica Nasseir acknowledged: “We need to be working on our consistency”.
Nasseir underlined though that his team is prepped for their battle with the domineering Dominicans, who won all their matches in Pool B.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 26, 2024: St Lucia formalized their semi-final place with a disciplined win versus St Maarten in the final preliminary round match of the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex,
Despite some stumbles along the way, and rear -guard action from St Maarten, St Lucia prevailed 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-23).
As the scores reflected, St Lucia had to dig deep in the third set to prevent the match being extended, as St Maarten was their own undoing, committing several unforced errors.
It meant that St Lucia finished the preliminaries with three wins and one defeat, whilst St Maarten had two wins and the same number of losses.
With a crack at the title, St Lucia’s Head Coach – Harven Brown projected that their loss to Dominica will be the lone hiccup, thus, they are focused on winning their next two matches.
“Let me just say that last night versus Dominica, we had our one bad game for the tournament. We tweaked a few things, we strategized and came out with a different approach tonight, so it feels good to be in the semi-finals and we are going all the way”, Brown advanced.
St Lucia plays Pool A winners – Antigua and Barbuda in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, St Maarten’s Head Coach- Clayton Holiday, gave an average mark to his team’s output overall in the four matches.
“With the juniors in the team, I would say that they gave it a good effort, it is just that they fell short of their focus and concentration in crucial times, but the principles what I find they could have done, just that they were not consistent enough”, Holiday assessed.
Holiday a deep evaluation will be made of the team’s performance, and the necessary programmes be put in place in the St Maarten Volleyball setup.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda, October 25, 2024: Efficient execution in all facets of the game, saw Dominica carving out a 3-1(25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20) over St Lucia, to lead Pool B of the 2024 Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) Senior Men’s Championships here at the YMCA Sports Complex.
St Lucia though pushed Dominica in each of the sets, as neither relented, as they fought for supremacy.
In the end, it was the power of the Dominica hitters, sprinkled with deft touches that made the difference.
Delighted with the win, Dominica’s Head Coach- Brian Gavlas, thumbed his team’s analyses of the St Lucians’ play and strategized accordingly.
“We put them in trouble with our serves… We were pretty discipline with our blocking and defence …Our guys did a good job… In general, we executed what we wanted to do very well”, Galvas reasoned.
Also, underlining that it was their superior strategy that helped them cross the line, Dominica’s Captain- Yahn Florent commented: “We looked at their games and from photos…We analysed the game plan and we stuck to the game”.
Florent though wanted his team to be unblemished.
“It is very nice to have one over their head…It was not the win we wanted… We wanted a 3-nil victory”, Florent insisted.
Accepting defeat, but not throwing in the towel, St Lucia’s Head Coach- Hervan Brown, thinks it is not all done for them.
“The tournament is not over, we are still going to win”, Brown assured.
His evaluation however, thumbed their service errors that attributed to their loss.
“We had a terrible serving game and I think that is where we lost the game”, Brown pointed out.
Brown iterated that they will fix what needs to be fixed in their upcoming match.
In other Pool B results on day four saw Anguilla having a 3-0 (25-15, 25-9, 25-17) win over Saba and St Maarten also defeated Saba 3-0(25-10, 25-14, 25-7).
