- SIMBA FRENCH Guardian Sports Reporter simba@nasguard.com
- Jan 11, 2024 Updated Jan 11, 2024
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Shonari Hepburn.
Eugene Stuart.
Donovan Wilmott.
There are three Bahamians who are currently playing volleyball professionally in Europe and they have been putting in the work and keeping their respective teams in playoff contention.
Shonari Hepburn is in Estonia playing for Barrus Võru VK, Eugene Stuart is in Portugal playing for Vitoria Sport Clube and Donovan Wilmott plays for Middlefart VK in Denmark.
“The season has been going well so far,” Hepburn said. “Like any year, there’s typically going to be highs and lows, but we’re doing a good job right now of staying leveled and I think we’ll peak at the right time. So, we’re feeling good moving forward.”
In their last match, they went up against second-place Ezereme and they got a shutout three sets to none win. That match took place this past Sunday on their home court at the Võru Sports Hall in Võru, Estonia. They won that match, 25-12, 25-16 and 25-19. The middle blocker contributed 17 points in the win.
“Right now, we’re just focusing on the little things and staying consistent. We know that we have this month (January), to make a big push before going into the postseason and give ourselves a good shot at home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
During the Christmas break, Barrus Võru was in action in the county cup which is a lower level. They won that tournament.
“It was a fun experience being allowed to play in the county cup. The level of play was decent and it was a good way to get some extra reps in over the long Christmas break that we had,” Hepburn said.
Next up for Hepburn and Barrus Võru is a home matchup against BigBank Tartu on Thursday January 18. That game gets underway at 12 p.m. Eastern Time.
This is Hepburn’s his first season in Estonia. He said it is cold but he is trying to adjust to it and enjoying his time there.
“I’m liking Estonia so far. Even after living in Canada and Finland it’s never easy to adjust to -20 degrees weather; but all in all, the country and quality of life are good. You can never get tired of people asking if you know Shaunae and Maicel Uibo,” Hepburn said referencing the Bahamian track star and her Estonian decathlete husband Maicel Uibo.
Stuart has his club sitting in third after 13 games with a 9-4 record and 28 points. They have won 31 sets and have dropped 16 sets on the season.
They are coming off a tough three sets to none loss against league leaders Sport Lisboa Benfica (12-1) on their home court at the Pavilhão Vitória Sport Clube in Guimarães, Portugal, on Saturday. They have four more games left on the season with a key matchup against second-place Sporting Clube Portugal (12-1) on their home floor on Saturday.
Wilmott’s team has a 5-5 record, good for sixth place in the top Danish Volleyball League. They have 22 points and are three points behind the second-place team.
Their last match was on their home court at Lillebæltshallen Middelfart, in Middelfart, Denmark, against Odenese Volleyball back in December. They lost three sets to one with set scores of 25-21, 25-21, 32-34 and 25-15. They return to action today at home taking on top seed ASV Elite. That match gets underway at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time.
