Victories for Toners, UWI Blackbirds in volleyball

By Morissa Lindsay

Burger King Clapham Toners’ straight sets victory over Chargers women have moved them to the top spot of the Goddard
Enterprises Limited Barbados Volleyball Association Division One League which continued yesterday at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium.

Both Toners and Deacons featured last night in two must-win encounters and after the latter lost in straight sets to University of the West Indies (UWI) Blackbirds that made way for the new leaders to defeat Chargers and take over on 44 points. But Deacons in second position are not yet out of the running because only three points separate the top two.

In the opening ladies encounter, defending champion UWI won 25-23, 25-14 and 25-19 as they got off to a flying start by winning the opening set and taking a commanding 13-7 lead in the second stanza that forced Deacons head coach Andrew Culpepper to call a timeout. Culpepper didn’t even wait until the second technical break as the Deacons women, while they made a good attempt at defending, they still needed to score and that they struggled to do.

It was no surprise that UWI went on to take a 2-0 lead in the second set after the Deacons side made some critical errors that cost them. Among those were failed returns as many of the balls were placed into the nets.

Coach Culpepper took off his outside hitter Serena Edwards to rest and rightfully so because the second set was done and dusted. Deacons needed to lift their game and cover certain areas on the court that were too exposed for UWI attackers; the likes of Dania Hamilton and Shakera Hall managed to sink their fist into anything that was there to be hit.

Similar to the first two sets, UWI continued from where they left off, scoring points and putting the Deacons ladies under added pressure. In addition, Afiya Taylor especially was busy jumping and diving around the court in an effort to keep the ball alive and she did a brilliant job of it.

Defending champions University of the West Indies Blackbirds defeated Deacons in straight sets to keep their hopes alive in the title race.

UWI coached by Renier Grace exuded a high level of confidence, cheering each point and Deacons just could not find an answer for the Cave Hill women who were 16-12 at the second technical timeout. If they weren’t hitting into the nets, Deacons’ serves were out of bounds, giving away crucial and unnecessary points.

At 19-16 to UWI they did a good job of serving the ball as the Deacons squad was unable to make any of the opportunities presented to break in one and they were completely outplayed in that all important game. That win has now moved UWI to third in the standings on 40 points ahead of Carlton on 34 in fourth position.

Toners who had to play Chargers the following game were hoping UWI would win because that would have further improved their chances in the title race and they got their wish and made it count by defeating the Chargers team 25-17, 25-13 and 25-19 in what was a dominant display.

Coached by Cedric Proverbs, Toners certainly made a statement by winning the first set by a whopping eight points thanks to the likes of Ashley Jordan and Ashley Marshall. They were equally unstoppable at the start of the second set rushing to an 8-0 lead.

And even then Proverbs instructed his players to up the intensity though Chargers attempted to fight back. But it was not that easy because Toners led 16-6 and it was hard for Chargers, led by Dei Padmore and Latifah Wood on attack, to score.

Toners services were on point, even their finishes were spot on as more of the momentum was in their favour. They demonstrated really good court awareness and caused problems for Chargers whose body language was funeral-like.

Going into the third set, Chargers women needed to lift their spirits and play the kind of strong volleyball they have been known for over the years. Chargers brought a hustling mentality to the third set and dimmed Toners’ intensity which worked well for them.

But that didn’t mean Toners were down and out because they came from behind to equalize 14-14 and went on to claim the next two points that stemmed from a failed return followed by a great block involving Marshall. It was turning out to be an exciting contest and once again it was Chargers who felt the pressure after the scores were locked 17-17, 18-18, 19-19 and the Toners broke away at 22-19 and never looked back.

Club United tried their best but lost 3-1 to Phoenix Security Carlton (22-25, 25-16, 30-29 and 25-23) in the other women’s game played. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb