Home|Sports|The Bahamas beats Martinique in the quartersSports
Sheldon LongleySend an emailJuly 28, 2023 17 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
The Bahamas men’s five-set loss to Jamaica on Wednesday meant they had to play in the quarterfinals on Thursday, and they responded to the pressure, by gaining a straight sets win over Martinique as the 18th Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Senior Championships continued at the Anthony Nesty Sports Hall in Parimaribo, Suriname.
Had The Bahamas beaten Jamaica, they would have obtained a direct ticket to the semis. They had to take the long route there and they got the job done with the convincing win over Martinique. The Bahamas won 27-25, 25-20 and 25-14, wasting little time with their Caribbean counterparts from down south.
The Bahamas (3-1) will now move on to play Barbados in the tournament semifinals – the winner of Pool A. Barbados is yet to drop a match while The Bahamas, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago finished with identical 2-1 win/loss records in Pool B.
The semifinal game between The Bahamas and Barbados will be played at 7:30 p.m. this evening, with the winner moving on to the gold medal match on Sunday.
The Bahamas’ women were not so fortunate as they fell to Jamaica in straight sets on Thursday, 25-16, 25-21 and 25-22. With a 1-3 record, The Bahamas will still advance to the tournament semis, where they will take on the top seeded Jamaicans again.
That match will be played at 2:30 p.m. today with the winner moving on to the gold medal match tomorrow.
In the men’s game, The Bahamas controlled the match throughout, challenged mostly in the first set only. After taking the lead early in the second set, The Bahamas never looked back. They went on to win comfortably.
The Wilsons led the charge for The Bahamas. Kyle Wilson had 21 points on 14 kills, four blocks and three service winners. Prince Wilson added 13 points on 13 kills. No other player scored in double figures for The Bahamas.
Lohan Lefaivre led Martinique with eight points on eight kills. His teammate Jordan Marie-Antoinette contributed seven points on six kills and a service winner. Overall, The Bahamas scored 77 of the 136 total points and dominated in almost every facet of a game that lasted just an hour and 13 minutes.
In the women’s affair, Bahamian Jannelle Curtis led all scorers with 16 points on 13 kills, a block and two service winners. Brittany Bonamy and Raechel Knowles contributed six points apiece for The Bahamas – Bonamy with four kills, a block and a service winner, and Knowles with all six of her points coming on kills.
Mychael Vernon and Sashalee Thomas had 14 points apiece for Jamaica – Vernon with 13 kills and a service winner, and Thomas with 12 kills, a block and a service winner.
Jamaica dominated, winning 75 of the 134 total points in a match that lasted just an hour and 10 minutes.
As mentioned, the teams will play each other again, in the tournament semifinals today.