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Barbados defeats USVI in CAZOVA Junior Championship

 
KINGSTON, Jamaica, July 23, 2011 - The 8th edition of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Junior Men’s Volleyball Championships commenced today with Barbados playing US Virgin Islands at 1:00pm at the
Alfred Sangster Auditorium.
 
Both teams seemed well prepared from the first whistle, with USVI taking early leads in each set. Barbados won the game in three straight sets (25-18, 26-24, 27-25) as both teams went down to the wire.
 
The team captain of Barbados, Ramon Blades, commented that “Our team was in good spirits before the game, and despite falling behind in each set we were able to support each other to fight harder.”

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Host US Virgin Islands had the last laugh on Guadeloupe as it registered a battling five-set win to secure fifth place on the penultimate day of competition on Friday night.
 
Having beaten USVI on the opening day of the competition, Guadeloupe entered the match as favorites to repeat its win, however, USVI the only team which was yet to get a win, finally did so, via a 16-25, 25-22, 25-13, 16-25, 15-8 score in one hour, 46 minutes.
 
For USVI which held a 15-9 block advantage captain Alvaro Delugo was once again his team's top scorer with 13 points while Aseah Thomas got 11, Shimoi Van Holten ten and Brandon Varlack, nine. Bruno Cotellon led Guadeloupe with 12 points, and Ludovic Saha and Heindrick Perrot added ten apiece.

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USVI and TTO crowned in CAZOVA
 
ST CROIX, Virgin Islands, April 5, 2012 – U.S. Virgin Islands claimed the gold medal at the CAZOVA Boys Youth Championship with a four-set (25-19, 25-21, 14-25, 25-20) triumph over a resilient Curacaco on Wednesday.
 
MVP Nayib Gonzalez had a tournament-high 21 points and Aseah Thomas and Jordan Evans added 14 and 13 points respectively as the top contributors to the win. Derrick Alexandre and Sharif Gabriel finished with 13 and 10 points for Curacao.
 
MVP Malika Davidson’s 20 points led Trinidad and Tobago to a 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-20) victory over Haiti in the gold-medal match of the CAZOVA Girls Youth Championship.
 
Sakile Grannum contributed 9 points including five aces and three blocks as the eventual champions outblocked their opponents (6-2) and also dominated in the aces category (9-4). Reann Young also had 9 tallies including 4 aces. The best Haitian scorer was Solaida Pierre with 10 points.
 
Jabarry Goodridge scored 10 points and Chioke Holde added 8 to lead Barbados in the 25-15-25-25-17 victory over Trinidad and Tobago for the boys’ bronze medal.
 
The girls’ third place went to U.S. Virgin Islands following a straight-set (25-22, 25-14, 25-23) victory against Barbados. Danielle Christian led the winners with 11 points and Ashley Marshall had 9 for the defeated team.
 

Boys individual awards
MVP: Nayib Gonzalez (TRI), Best Scorer: Jabarry Goodridge (BAR), Best Spiker: Nayig Gonzalez (TRI), Best Blocker: Jeandry Phillips (CUR), Best Server: Nathanael MacLean (BAR), Best Setter: Lakish Plante (ISV), Best Receiver: Jabarry Goodridge (BAR), Best Digger: Jabarry Goodridge (BAR), Best Libero: Matthew Bailey (BAR).
 
Girls individual awards

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Shannon Thompson leads TTO to CAZOVA title
 
ST. CROIX, Virgin Islands, April 11, 2012 – MVP Shannon Thompson scored a tournament-high 30 points and Samantha Prescott added 11 helping Trinidad and Tobago to a four-set victory 817-25, 25-12, 25-4, 25-19) over hosts U.S,. Virgin Islands in the gold medal match of CAZOVA Women’s Junior Championship on Thursday.
 
Thompson also took home the awards as best scorer, best spiker and best server of the competition.
 
Trinidad’s Head Coach Macsood Ali said he had predicted his team would win the championship because his blocks were strong and tall. He credited Thompson and Captain Prescott for their strong attacks to put his team on top.
 
USVI’s Head Coach Sacha Gumbs said: “Trinidad was a strong team. I congratulate them on their win.”
 
In the bronze medal match, Curacao pulled off an impressive win over Haiti in a four-set match (21-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-19).
 
Curacao Captain Rayanalies Allee though her team play very good. “Our goal was to win the championship but we are very happy that we winning third,” Allee said.
 
Haiti Captain Sthefara Marie Bellot appreciated the experience in their first Caribbean championships. “It will help us develop our game,” Bellot said.
 
I
ndividual awards: MVP: Shannon Thompson (TRI). Best Scorer: Shannon Thompson (TRI). Best Spiker: Shannon Thompson (TRI). Best Blocker: Adrainne Bynoe (BAR). Best Server: Shannon Thompson (TRI). Best Setter: Rayanaliers Allee (CUR). Best Receiver: Rujeainys
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NORCECA welcomes three new members to its Board

 
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, April 20, 2012 – NORCECA Confederation welcomed three new female members to its Board of Administration during the first of three days of meeting of the Executive Committee on Friday.
 
The new members are Mireya Luis of Cuba, Sabinah Clement of British Virgin Islands and Lucille Hobson of U.S. Virgin Islands.
 
Luis is a legendary former player of the Cuban teams that won three consecutive Olympic Games gold medals at the Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000) editions.
 
Clement and Hobson presides over the National Volleyball Federation of their respective countries.
 
Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, President of NORCECA, remarked on the importance of the new additions saying that now the BOA has five female members out of a total of 15. The other two are Marta Centeno de Sajche of Guatemala and Bertha Cuadra of Nicaragua.

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US Virgin Islands crowned CAZOVA 2012 Champions
ST. CROIX, Virgin Islands, April 5, 2012 - US Virgin Islands Youth Boys take the CAZOVA Crown in the championship which ended yesterday.  Cristobal Marte Hoffiz was present to witness the finals between Curacao and the hosts.
 
He commented: “This tournament is evidence of the impact the development plan is having on the level of competition we are witnessing here today.”
 
“This event is a reality,” he continued, “and was not possible five years ago. I am happy to be here to witness the championship match and to see the display of such talent.”   US Virgin Islands Boys Youth team defeated Curacao and they earned the right to represent the CAZOVA Zone in the Continental Championship which will take place in Tijuana, Mexico in July. 
 
The Continental Championship is the qualification event for the FIVB World Championship and therefore USVI boys will have the chance to create history should they place in the top three teams which will allow them to participate in the World Championship next year.
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U.S. Virgin Islands are cementing a solid volleyball program

 
ST. CROIX, Virgin Islands, April 10, 2012 – The island of St. Croix is just a tiny white sand spot in the archipelago located to the east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea, but in the recent weeks this United States’ territory is increasingly growing up bigger and bigger in the volleyball map as hosts of several youth and junior events of the CAZOVA zone, one of the sub divisions of NORCECA Confederation.
 
Thanks to the energetic Lucille Hobson, a former female volleyball player who now presides over the U.S. Virgin Islands Volleyball Federation, the sport is becoming a very popular discipline among the youngsters in both genders.
 
The CAZOVA Youth Boys and Girls Championships just concluded here last week with great success and the Women’s Junior Championship is currently underway with a total of six teams competing for the title at Central High School.
 
The local boys’ team won the regional event overcoming the competition from Curacao, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago while the girls ended up in third place behind TTO and Haiti and ahead of Barbados.
 
These were the first medals won at the international scene by teams from U.S. Virgin Islands since the U-19 Boys won a first-ever silver medal in 2007 at Trinidad and Tobago and, according to Hobson, this new breed of players want to do better and are very committed.
 
The home athletes participated in a two-week training camp held during Christmas Holidays where native Andre Titus, a coach at York College in New York for the past 13 years, joined the local coaches to help with his experience.
 
Titus was impressed by the talent of the athletes while stressing on the fundamentals of the game and as a result, some of the local players are starting to benefit from scholarships from mainland schools.