Deacons clinch junior volleyball KO

In a thrilling marathon encounter that had spectators on the edge of their seats, Deacons emerged victorious over Police on Sunday in the Barbados Volleyball Association’s Junior Knockout men’s final. The two-and-a-half-hour match, played at the Wildey Gymnasium, was a fierce battle that saw both teams trading blows before Deacons ultimately won through in five sets.

An initial see-saw battle between the two teams saw Deacons edge ahead at the first technical timeout, leading 8-7. Police outside hitter, Darian Seale (6), managed to find gaps in the Deacons’ block to level the scores, before a Police block put them briefly in front at 9-8. However, Deacons responded with a mini run, regaining the lead and extending it to 11-9 thanks to an ace from setter Dershone Codrington (11).

A fortunate net roll extended Deacons’ lead to 12-9, before a cross-court hit from Codrington and a powerful spike from Nathan Griffith (18) put them firmly in control. A quick set to middle blocker Nicholas Griffith (21) sent the Deacons bench into a frenzy as they moved to a commanding 15-10 lead. Griffith continued to be a force at the net, contributing to Deacons’ 16-11 advantage at the next technical timeout.

Police fought back, with middle blocker Romel Agard (8) finding an opening to reduce the deficit. However, Deacons’ Isaiah Francis (3) proved to be a formidable force at the net, helping his team to a 17-13 lead and forcing Police to call a timeout.

Deacons maintained their momentum, eventually closing out the first set 25-23. Police battled back in the second set, leading 8-7 at the first technical timeout and extending their advantage to 11-8. Francis once again made his presence felt, but Deacons made changes, bringing in veteran Oxley and a new setter. Police capitalised on this disruption, taking the second set 25-21 to level the match.

It was a total momentum swing in the third set as Deacons ran away with a resounding victory 25-11. Then in the fourth set the momentum swung the other way with Police running away with the victory 25-14.

The deciding fifth set started just as the first had done, with a see-saw battle as the two sides traded points. Early on, the scores were level at 4-4. The left-hand hitter, Francis, continued to be a thorn in Police’s side, spearheading the Deacons initial attack as they established a 7-4 advantage.

A heated outburst by one of the Police players resulted in a red card being issued for the Police captain, further disrupting their momentum.

Deacons, inspired by their veteran Oxley, dominated the remainder of the set after the teams changed sides. Oxley took matters into his own hands in the deciding set, combining for blocks on two occasions and then standing firm as a one-man block.

Along with Francis’ powerful hitting, Deacons proved to be too strong for Police in the marathon match. The final score was 15-8, giving Deacons the Junior Knockout title 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-11, 14-25, 15-8).

(CG)