The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

AFTER several inspiring performances, the adversity was finally too much for Team Bahamas to overcome at the 15th Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Championships.

In the men’s tournament, the Bahamas finished in fourth while the women did not advance to the medal round and finished in fifth place.

The men’s team were unable to successfully defend their title and lost to Curacao in the bronze-medal game last night 14-25, 25-22, 22-25, 21-25.

The team was forced to adjust after a hand injury sidelined setter Tony Simon, two games into the tournament.

In the semi-finals, the Bahamas came up short in their bid to reach the gold medal when they lost in five sets to hosts Trinidad and Tobago 27-29, 25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 15-8.

Team captain Prince Wilson led the way with 17 points, 15 of which were kills while Renaldo Knowles added 13, Byron Ferguson added 12 and Shedrick Forbes chipped in with 10.

It was the third five-set match for the Bahamas in the tournament.

In their opening match, the Bahamas topped Curacao in five sets: 19-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21 and 16-14.

Knowles was the main scorer for Bahamas with 16 points, which included two aces while Ferguson scored 15 points, including six blocks.

Wilson scored 13 and Forbes finished with 11.

In game two, the Bahamas outlasted Jamaica in another five-setter, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-10, this time over Jamaica to top Pool A and advance to the semi-finals.

Ferguson led the team with 18 points while Wilson and Knowles each finished with nine and Chauncey Cooper chipped in with eight.

Despite the loss, the men - the first Bahamian team to qualify for the event in decades - have also qualified for the 22nd Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz, Mexico, November 15-30.

The women finished the tournament in fifth place after they finished the group stage with an 0-4 record.

In the opener they fell to Jamaica 25-19, 25-14, 25-18. Melinda Bastian had a team-best eight points.

In game two they lost to Barbados 25-21, 25-11, 25-19. Bastian and Cheryse Bain each finished with eight points while captain Krystel Rolle-Brown added seven in the loss.

In game three, the Bahamas fell to the “Calypso Spikers” from Trinidad and Tobago, 25-13, 25-13, 25-13.

The Bahamas gave away 30 points on errors while T&T committed 23.

The Bahamas got three points each from Rolle-Brown and Avoni Seymour. Jannelle Curtis, Chryse Bain and Brittney Deveaux added two each. In their final match, the Bahamas lost to Suriname in three sets, 25-9, 25-18, 25-13.