The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN memory of the late DeVince Smith, Chauncey Cooper said he and the Scotiabank Defenders’ B team wanted to dedicate their performance in the sixth annual Defend Ya Spike Tournament to their former mentor and coach.

Cooper was named the most valuable player as the Defenders B, made up of more of the younger and collegiate players, stunned their big brothers Defenders A, featuring the more seasoned players in the league, with a 23-25, 25-21 and 15-12 victory at the DW Davis Gymnasium on Sunday night.

The game brought the curtain down on the three-day tournament that saw the Panthers A, made up of most of the collegiate players, upset the league’s perennial champions Scottsdale Vixens 25-12, 18-25, 15-13.

In the bronze medal round, the Panthers B prevailed over the Caribbean Heat in the ladies’ match-up and the International Jammers got the best of the Vikings.

Tournament director Margaret ‘Muggy’ Albury said the tournament lived up to its expectations, despite the number of challenges that they encountered.

“The challenge was that we didn’t have the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium available and we got off to a late start,” Albury said.

“We didn’t know when the Caribbean Volleyball Championship was going to be held, so we were in and out and because of the plans for CVC, we didn’t have as many teams prepared to come down this time.

“A lot of the teams from the US like the Jammers from the United States had just completed their nationals and they didn’t come in and because of the CVC, a lot of the Caribbean teams we had anticipated didn’t make it.”

Albury, however, thanked the International Jammers and the Vikings, which featured some of the international players, for coming in and participating.

Scotiabank, Caribbean Bottling Company Limited and British Colonial and BTC were the joint sponsors of the tournament, which is expected to offer a male and female scholarship to the College of the Bahamas to two deserving players to be announced at a later date.

Defenders B stun

Defenders A

in three sets

Although he missed his flight back to Abaco where he resides with his wife and two children and is employed at Baker’s Bay, Chauncey Cooper said it was worth the wait.

“I thought it was good. It was our A team, but we wanted to perform and win the title,” Cooper said. “My wife Letika is going to be mad, but I had to win this championship for my team.

“I’ve been a part of this team from the time that DeVince Smith brought me into volleyball when I was in grade 11 at Doris Johnson (High School).  I really appreciate what he did for me. This one was for him and my wife and children.”

Tied at 1-1 going into the third set, the match came right down to the wire. With the score tied at 12-12, Cooper got a spike to give the Defenders B a 13-12 lead. On the other side of the court, Shonari Hepburn was called for a double hit and the Defenders B took advantage as Rajhael Moxey served out the final point.

“We were a bit flat at the beginning, but we managed to come out with some energy and got the win,” said Eugene Stuart who, along with Moxey, returned home from the University of Charleston to display their skills, along with the combo of Cooper, Je’Vaughn Saunders, Garry Greenslade, Lorenzo Williams, Christopher Cash and Lahaundro Thompson.

“It was breathtaking, to say the least. Just to do it against our own team is impressive.  We just wanted it more than they did.”

The Defenders A were riding high on the performances of both Byron Ferguson and Jamaal Ferguson, who are both home after playing in Europe and the USA respectively. But Tonny Simon said they just let it slip away from them.

“We were just going through the motions. The young boys stayed with it and one by one, the one and two points added up to three and four and they just went ahead and continued playing,” Simon said. “We never really made a push and that was the difference.”

The Defenders A also got some help from Hepburn, a student from Niagara College in Canada, as well as Sherwaine Arthurs and Shedrick Forbes.

Panthers A upset

Vixens in three sets

The Vixens have set the pace as the team to be in local volleyball over the past decade, but the Panthers knew that sooner or later, they could put together the team to stop their dominance.

It came as the squad of collegiate players came home and performed down the stretch in the third and deciding set.

Tied at 1-1 going into the third, the score was 12-12 when Brooke Deveaux called for a spike from setter Je’Nae Saunders and she delivered what turned out to be the biggest play of the game.

The Panthers A took a 13-12 lead. But after Vixens’ Krystel Brown tied the score again on a spike, Deveaux and Avoni Seymour doubled up a wall of deget got a block for a 14-13 lead and Seymour went on to serve the final point for the win.

“Because we were coming from different places and different schools, our chemistry wasn’t there, but as the tournament progressed, we got it together,” said Deveaux, who was named the MVP.

“Tonight, we came together and we got the job done. Those ladies we played are among the former national team players and we are trying out for the national team this year, so we had a point to prove.”

A student/athlete at Bluefield State College, Deveaux led the attack for the Panthers with her teammate Brittany Bonamy, along with Seymour, formerly at Winston Salem University and now at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad & Tobago, Jannell Curtis from the University of North Carolina and Je’Nae Saunders, who just graduated from Benedict College.

Veteran Shantia Simon and versatile high school sensation Mechelle Moss, who is just in the 11th grade at St Augustine’s College, joined in to help the Panthers A celebrate.

The Vixens, led by the veteran crew of Krystel Brown, Kelsie Johnson, Davia Moss, Malinda Bastian, Laval Sands, Latondra Brown and Genie Adderley, couldn’t get the job done when it counted the most.

“We came out very flat at the beginning of our games, but in the second set, we determined that we didn’t want to go out the way we started,” said Krystel Brown as they had to battle back from a disappointing 11-0 deficit in the first set.

“The problem in the first set was our passing. That was the problem in our second set as well. But we were able to pull through in the second set. The third set we started slow again. We came from behind to tie the game, but unfortunately they overpowered us. That was where we fell down. We didn’t get the kills and they got their own.”

As the more experienced players in the league, Brown said it was quite disappointing to suffer the loss, even though it’s in the off-season.

At the end of the tournament, Je’Nae Saunders was named as the female’s best setter, Katurah and Brittany Bonamy were the best outside hitters, while the best middle/blockers were Brooke Deveaux and Ashley Webb. Jannell Curtis got the best opposite award and Mechelle Moss was the libero.

On the men’s side, International Jammers’ Michael Hall, a student at North Carolina State, was the best setter. Jamaal Ferguson and Patricio Grant were the best outside hitters, Eugene Stuart and Rommel Lightbourne were the middle/blockers and Rajhael Moxey was the opposite player.