All Stars fade after initial resistance

Cawmere in yellow and blue defeated All Stars last night. Here, they blocked attacker Derion Hurley of All Stars when the Barbados Volleyball Association Division One continued last night. (Pictures by Morissa Lindsay)

By Morissa Lindsay

Cawmere dropped a set but were still good on the night to secure a hard fought 3-1 victory over All Stars as the 2022 Goddard Enterprises Limited Barbados Volleyball Association Division One League continued at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex last night.

In what was the first men’s game of the night, Cawmere won 25-19, 23-25, 25-22 and 25-11 as All Stars just lost their way in the contest having done well to draw level in the second set but were unable to deliver in the third and fourth stanzas.

With Cawmere being dominant at the start of the match, All Stars did incredibly well to capture a 16-13 lead at the second technical time out of the second set. All Stars attackers showcased lots of power which worked for them on the outside, led by Jonathan Alleyne, Derion Hurley, Kyle Croney and Keeday Thompson. Those four along with captain Jason Hendy and libero Nicholas Holder put up a good showing against Cawmere.

The scores were tied 20-20 in the second set and two failed returns by Cawmere were just what All Stars needed as they went on to capture the win 25-22. Thompson, at 24-22, hammered one down the middle with no return to finish that effort in style.

With the match at 1-1 it was shaping up to be an entertaining battle as Cawmere with senior national player Shawn Simpson in the mix upped their intensity. Simpson along with the two Roberts (Robert Andrews and Robert Gooding) was also equal to the task as they refused to let All Stars break their momentum. Ramon Blades also had an excellent game for Cawmere and was arguably the player of the match.

The third set as expected was competitive and Cawmere secured a slim one-point (8-7) advantage during the first technical time out. But All Stars shifted the momentum in their favour with some steady play that saw the score reach 16-12 and put Cawmere in their traditional blue and yellow on the back
foot.

On defence Cawmere hustled hard and toiled to ensure the ball was kept alive as they tried their best to stay in the game and take a 2-1 lead over All Stars. As the set progressed the score was 22-20 in favour of Cawmere who once again came from behind and even though All Stars accounted for a point off the service of Croney to trail by one (22-21) it was not enough. Cawmere once again took the lead as they went on to secure the set by three points.

Player coach Mark Lewis joined the action in the latter stages and added more fire power to Cawmere’s attack. The fourth set had all to play for as All Stats needed to equalize while a win for Cawmere was necessary if they were to avoid a fifth and potentially tricky set. It was not the kind of start All Stars had hoped for as they fell apart at the beginning of the set and were oftentimes left scrambling in the front court to keep the ball alive and unsuccessfully so.

Cawmere led 8-3 with Simpson looking much better on the attack after struggling to properly connect and score in the previous stanza. On resumption All Stars reset and accounted for three consecutive points but that intensity lasted for too short a period as Cawmere secured a 16-11 lead and took control once more in emphatic fashion.

Cawmere were as destructive as it can get on court as they registered nine straight points to win the set 25-11 and the game 3-1. All Stars really tried but committed too many unforced errors.

In the other matches played last night, the men and women of Deacons Club featured in a five sets showdown against their respective opponents. The Deacons men came from behind to win 3-2 against WOW Displays Williams Industries Foundation United as the match ended 21-25, 25-14, 23-25, 25-19 and 15-12 in a thriller.

However, the women of Deacons did not have such luck as they lost against reigning volleyball queens University of the West Indies Blackbirds. Interestingly, Deacons led 2-1 at one stage of the match but could not stop the UWI ladies storming back 25-23, 18-25, 16-25, 25-12 and 15-9 in what was a great clash between the two sides.

The other women’s encounter also went down to five sets and in the end it was Burger King Clapham Toners that celebrated over Club United 23-25, 22-25, 25-8, 25-16 and 16-14. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb