The Tribune

IT was all smiles after a challenging four sets as the University of The Bahamas women’s volleyball team took care of Southeast Christian College Eagles 3-1 at the Miami Sports Box on Saturday.

It was their first win in the programme’s history on the South Florida Tour to wrap up their two-match series in Doral, Florida, this past weekend.

Mingoes won 25-19, 31-29, 22-25 and 25-18 on Saturday. The first set was their first set they ever won abroad.

Head coach Raymond Wilson, who worked hard with the ladies, was happy to see the hard work pay off.

“It took us a while to get where we wanted to go, but this year we accomplished that,” Wilson said. “We accomplished the task of performing at a higher level and not only performing at a higher level but doing it consistently. The weekend was a very good one. They fought hard in this game. They battled back. The second set went to 31, and we came out victorious.”

UB came out strong in the first set taking a 5-3 lead. After the score was tied at 12 points, UB started to pull away from the Eagles and won the set 25-19 to lead 1-0 on sets.

It was a back and forth crucial second set as the game needed 60 rallies to determine a winner. In the end UB pulled it off 31-29 to take the 2-0 lead.

As expected, the Eagles were looking to avoid a sweep and sneak their way into the match in the third set. UB went down 7-3 early in the that set. UB lost power Hannah McBride to an injury later in that set as they fell 25-22 but held a 2-1 lead.

UB wasted no time to control the fourth set as they went up 13-9. It was a good start as they adjusted without McBride. They went up 23-18 before closing the match out with two straight points to win 25-18.

Anjeniker Joseph, UB’s captain said they had to dig deep in the fourth set.

“Losing one of our important players, we all knew that we all had to step up a little bit to cover that area that was missing which was the power hitter. Our service was also important and we were able to cover where we lost,” Joseph said.

Zarria Rose, who is a senior, was happy to see the team grow and win their first match abroad.

“I have been with this program for a couple years,” Rose said. “I have seen the growth and us learning. I see the progress and the hunger in the girls’ eyes and how much they want it. We aggressive today (Saturday) and we wanted it and took it.”

It was a strong showing after they lost in three sets to the Millennia Atlantic University on Friday. Next up for UB is the New Providence Volleyball Association season that will get underway at a later date.