Antilles School is ready to welcome two teams from St. John, seven from St. Croix, and 10 from St. Thomas to the 2023 Antilles School Varsity Volleyball Tournament slated for Thursday through Saturday at Antilles School’s MCM Center.
There are 10 teams seeking to dethrone the Charlotte Amalie High School Chicken Hawks who captured the 2022 title. Joining them in group one are the Central High School Lady Caribs, Free Will Baptist Lady Warriors, both from St. Croix; Gifft Hill School Lady Barracudas, out of St. John; and the host Antilles School Lady Hurricanes.
Group two features the top team in the St. Thomas-St. John district, the Virgin Islands Montessori School and Peter Gruber International Academy; the Lady Volts, St. Croix Educational Complex Lady Barracudas, and Good Hope/Country Day Lady Panthers, also from St. Croix; and the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School Lady Rays, and the Lady Vikings of All Saints Cathedral School.
With two tournaments under their belts, the teams from St. Croix have a distinct advantage with the experience gained by participating in those events. The Lady Caribs were victorious in both the Good Hope/Country Day School and the Central High School varsity volleyball tournaments. Two St. Thomas schools, All Saints and Antilles, made it to Central’s tournament. This is the first tournament of the year for the two top female teams in the St. Thomas/St. John district, VIMSPGIA and CAHS.
In 2022, the Central High School Caribs defeated the host team to claim the championship. They are ready and willing to defend their title and build on the impressive resume they have constructed thus far this season. The Caribs won both varsity tournaments in the territory in 2023. They are the heavy favorites to continue their reign.
The Caribs will face All Saints Cathedral School Vikings, CAHS Chicken Hawks, VIMSPGIA Vols and Educational Complex Barracudas in the first round. The Ivanna Eudora Kean High School Rays, Good Hope/Country Day Panthers, Gifft Hill Barracudas, and host Antilles School Hurricanes will be in the other pool. Antilles is also expected to find its way to the championship match of this tournament. But the level of play is really even, making the atmosphere prime for upsets.
The matches start on Thursday, with Antilles versus Gifft Hill in the female division and All Saints will be taking on CAHS in the male division.
Entry to the games is $5 for adults and $3 for students with IDs. Matches start at 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. The action resumes at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. The female championship game will be played at 8 p.m., followed by the male title match at 9 p.m. Closing ceremonies will commence at 10 p.m. All the matches will be played at Antilles School’s MCM Center.
