The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT was not the final outcome expected over the weekend as the men’s national volleyball team fell short of the bronze medal, while the women’s team ended up fifth at the Senior Caribbean Volleyball Championships at the Anthony Nesty Sports Hall in Paramaribo, Suriname.

In their semifinal match on Saturday against Trinidad & Tobago, Team Bahamas lost 3-1 (25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18) as outside hitter Kyle Wilson scored 20 points.

Captain and middle blocker Byron Ferguson and middle blocker Hepburn Shanari scored 13 and 12 points respectively.

“We learn in this tournament that every game is different,” said Bahamas head coach Lloyd Davis, who was assisted by Tonny Simon. “We played a lot of games the past couple of days and I am thankful that volleyball at this level has been restored after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our group shows a lot of poise and resilience.”

Team Bahamas lost 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 23-25, 25-22) to Barbados on Friday to drop to the bronze medal game. In that match, Prince Wilson led the attack with 21 points, including five spikes and five blocks.

The Bahamas finished 2-1 for second place in Group B, the same record as Trinidad & Tobago, who came out on top by virtue of beating the Bahamas in their head-to-head match-up.

Barbados was undefeated at 2-0 in Group A with Suriname second at 1-1.

Members of Team Bahamas were Kyle Wilson, Prince Wilson, team captain Byron Ferguson, Shonari Hepburn, Donovan Wilmott, Jamaal Ferguson, Renaldo Knowles, Je’Vaughn Saunders, Eugene Stuart, Jesse Delancy and Gaege Smith,

The women, on the other hand, experienced some injuries, according to head coach Jason Saunders, which prevented them from performing as expected, finishing in fifth place in the round robin at 1-3.

Team Bahamas lost its final match in a five set thriller 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 25-17, 21-25, 15-12) to Trinidad and Tobago, who committed 30 unforced errors, compared to Team Bahamas’ 48. Janelle Curtis led the team with 20 points, including five blocks and three spikes.

Outside hitter Brittany Bonamy contributed with 12 points.

“But still the ladies were able to give a very good showing,” said Saunders, who was assisted by Glenn Rolle. “While we did not make the medal round, we were locked into a three-way tie for third only to be eliminated by a tiebreaker, we showed that we belonged with the best in this region.

“Looking back at the tournament, we had an excellent chance to beat Trinidad & Tobago and would have had it not been for a couple of unfortunate errors. I believe had we won that game we would have placed ourselves in position to go to the gold medal round.”

Nevertheless, Saunders said they were able to see how close we are to winning in this region.

“We know those areas that must be worked on and hopefully, with the help of our federation, association, government, corporate Bahamas and all supporters, the facilities and monies will be made available for what will be a new era in volleyball, building of Bahamas Games and this tournament,” Saunders said.

“In the words of one of our male players, female volleyball in the Bahamas is about to skyrocket “

The women’s team consisted of Jannelle Curtis, Sari Albury, Melinda Bastian, Brittany Bonamy, La’Tavia Braynen, Raechel Knowles, Venessa Sawyer, Laval Sands, team captain Je’Nae Saunders, Ashley Webb, Franceska McBride and Chandra Mackey.