74.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesVirgin Islands Wins Over Barbados at Junior Women’s Volleyball Championship

Virgin Islands Wins Over Barbados at Junior Women’s Volleyball Championship

Team captain Dinaja Dowdy returned from injury to lead the U.S. Virgin Islands to its maiden win, via a come-from-behind 3-1, 20-25, 27-25, 25-21, 25-23 triumph over Barbados to stay alive for a semifinal spot in the Ninth Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Junior Women’s Championship at Morne des Peres, Hall des Sports, on Tuesday night.
U.S.V.I. entered the match, with a 0-2 record after going under to the French-speaking islands of Martinique (2-3) and Guadeloupe (1-3), respectively, in its first two matches, the last of which was without Dowdy due to a sprained ankle.
However, despite not fully recovered, she returned to lead from the front with a match high 13 points and inspired her team to an important win. In addition to the very animated Dowdy, Khrystin Rosa added 10 and Danielle Christian chipped in with nine.
The Barbadians were a bit unlucky though, as they had to deal with the absence of key player and captain Ashley Marshall with ten points into the third set after she sustained a back injury. She was hospitalized after running after a wild reception and clashing into her team bench. In her absence, Dominique Best top-scored with 12 points, Mya Evelyn got 10.
Dowdy said after watching her team’s defeat to Guadeloupe from the stands on Monday night due to her injury that she was determined to play the next match, whether she was fully recovered or not.
“I knew my team needed me, and I was very anxious to go out there and play, and l thank my coaches for putting me in the match and my team-mates for a good performance. Once we play as a team, we will have a good chance to win more matches,” said Dowdy.
Commenting on the loss, Barbadian Evelyn said her team her team started off showing a lot of fight, but after the injury to Marshall they dropped their game.
Sacha Gumbs, U.S.V.I.’s coach, said she was very satisfied with the performance of her team. “Serving is a big part of our game, and we got it right tonight. Now the girls are growing in confidence, and we are looking ahead to our next match,” she said.
Barbadian coach Shennel Pooler admitted her team was too inconsistent to get the win on the day.
“After winning the first set, they made some changes, and our players did not adjust to their play at all. We also lapsed mentally after our captain got injured. We knew she was lamenting about some back problems for a while and when that happened, it kind of took the win out of our play. But credit to the girls, they still played a good fighting match, and we will regroup and come back for our next encounter,” Pooler said.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.