The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Another sport on the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association calendar, another championship title for the AF Adderley Tigers’ junior girls programme.

Yesterday, the Tigers added the junior girls volleyball championship to their dominant season with a straight set win on their home court 25-14, 25-10 over the CH Reeves Raptors.

The Tigers were never legitimately threatened in the two sets, and led by as much as 17 at one point in the second set to claim their third consecutive title.

“We spoke about them keeping their composure and it’s one of those things that we practiced in training,” said Tigers’ head coach Janet Williams. “They understand the fundamentals of the game and they know how to play the right way despite the score, but I also stressed to them that it’s not over until it’s over and we had to finish the job.”

In the opening set, the Tigers got out to a quick 4-0 lead and the Raptors would never trim the deficit to less than four points.

Trailing 19-14, the Raptors allowed the Tigers to regain service on an unforced error and they held serve for the final five points to take the opening set.

The Raptors reached the scoreboard first in set two but the Tigers quickly distanced themselves with a run.

Tied at four, AF Adderley went on a 6-0 run to take control of the game for good, 10-4. CH Reeves fell behind and lost their composure as the Tigers claimed the title.

Williams has built a powerhouse volleyball programme with their third title in three years. “It means everything to win this championship, it’s what they put in all those hours working for and I know my grade nine students leaving us this year will be an asset to any programme they will go to next,” she said.

She applauded her current team and those that have passed through the ranks for their diligence in the programme despite a lack of funding and equipment.

“I think the girls are doing a lot, but they are doing it with limited resources because right now we don’t have a net here at the school and we don’t have poles. So they are basically training without the most essential things they need, so at this point they have been visualising where the net is and working on getting the ball over,” she said. “I believe they can do a lot better. The girls I have many of them have the calibre to be on junior national teams once they remain dedicated to a game and to have better resources set in place for them to succeed.”