Chargers were plugged into all with a straight-sets 3-0 victory over long-time rivals Deacons when the Barbados Volleyball Association Goddard Enterprises Limited Senior Knockout Competition continued last night at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium.
Coached by Lerone Knight and captained by former outstanding Barbadian player Sharon Bovell, Chargers were unstoppable winning 25-22, 25-13 and 26-24 against a Deacons unit that simply failed to get it together on the court.
Chargers’ captain Sharon Bovell (right) buried this strike past Deacons’ defensive team of Julia Lewis and Andrea Flores.
Bovell and Kinisha Marshall went hard on the outside mostly off well-executed serves fed by setter Dashonta Addison. Chargers closed a four-lead gap to trail 19-21 when Deacons’ coach Andrew Culpepper was forced to call time-out.
In no time on the resumption of play Chargers tied the scores 22-22 with two great shots from Bovell as Deacons called time out yet again but Chargers went on to take the lead 24-22 and the set 25-22 after a failed return.
Addison, a junior national player, opened the service for Chargers in the second set and they did well to stay ahead 8-7 at the first mandatory break. Following that time out Chargers went on to score eight straight points 15-7 until Deacons eventually break the drought.
That much-needed point came off a failed return by Chargers who did not mind as they were in control 16-8 and Deacons badly needed to break Chargers spell. With veteran, Julia Lewis on the serve Deacons were able to score three points straight 11-18 as they tried to fight back.
However, the damage had already been done as Chargers took a 2-0 advantage having stamped their authority 25-13 in the second set. That placed Deacons in a situation where they needed to dig themselves out of the hole applied by Chargers.
The third set was crucial for both teams as Deacons badly needed a win while victory for Chargers was one set away and with the scores locked 5-5, Bovell served her team to an 8-5 lead and 16-10 advantage.
Chargers’ bench reflected the quality and libro Nicola Greaves was among those that kept the ball alive while Rickie Seaton and Andrea Oughterson were among those that assisted Bovell and Marshall on the outside.
Chargers were well on their way to victory in the third stanza when a poor judgement call made by linesman John Samson resulted in Deacons rallying from eight points down [16-24] to equalise 24-24. But in the end, victory was secured 26-24 by the ladies in red and black.
All competition last night featured women and Juniors led 2-0 against Phoenix Security Carlton who rose to the occasion, managed to equalise 2-2 and won the fifth and decisive set.
Phoenix Security Carlton (in red) held on to win a five-set thriller against Juniors.
The Patrick Oxley-coached Juniors team, led 25-20 and 25-20 but Carlton under the guidance of Shon Hurdle won the next three sets 25-15, 27-25 and 19-17 for a hard-fought victory.
The decisive fifth set is where all eyes were focused, and Carlton opened with the first serve through Tiffany Webster, and they won the point. Carlton took that 1-0 lead when Tenielle Chapman-Goodluck, Juniors top attacker was blocked by Tamisia Trotman.
The scores went on to a tie 3-3 and Chapman- Goodluck with three fantastic serves gave Juniors a 6-3 advantage that forced Carlton coach Shon Hurdle to call time-out. Juniors led 8-4 when both teams switched benches, and on resumption, Junior picked up from where they left off as Chara Watson comfortably picked one top of the nets.
Carlton fought well to trail by one (10-11), and then equalised 11-11 when Rhea Bryant and Destiny Cummins denied Chapman- Goodluck with a fantastic block.
It was even-steven at 12-12, 13-13, 14-14 and Juniors had the opportunity to break in one with Chapman- Goodluck tasked with serving at that stage, and she did not disappoint as Juniors scored for the 15-14 lead.
Coach Hurdle called time out for Carlton, and they managed to break serve and scored on an outside attack taken by Tamyra Stephens to force another deadlock (15-15) situation. With the scores so close the excitement continued as both teams fought to the very end but two unforced errors by Juniors at that critical moment of the game resulted in defeat.
University of the West Indies Blackbirds hammered Club United 25-15, 25-11, 25-27 and 25-16 during their match-up last night. Developmental Volleyball in Motion’s competitive spirit shone through when they won 3-2 against Burger King Clapham Toners. They were victorious 25-16, 15-25, 21-25, 25-23 and 15-9 over Toners who played quite well.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
