Photo: provided
By VINO
St Maarten shook off the dust of defeat in the first game against Antigua, to weather the storm and a stern test from the VI, with a 25-23, 25-22, 25-19 victory.
St Maarten’s middle player, Shaquille Rombley (8) played head and shoulders over his adversaries as he scored at will. His teammate Shawn Gumbs (4) was also very effective regardless to what position he attacked from the court.
Though the Virgin Islands lost, they showed lots of courage, fighting until the end. Team captain Mikey Joseph urged his team to do better and they responded in the positive. Captain Joseph was well supported by Paul Mourillon (1) and Tyler Jackson (5), who played like there was no tomorrow.
St Maarten felt the game was an improvement; however, they were not satisfied with the level of execution, though they passed better and the setter was able to distribute the ball more.
The Virgin Islands captain, Mikey Joseph, conceded the opposition was the superior team. The game also highlighted areas that could be worked on such as passing and offensive plays. Coach Stephen Payne indicated a short preparation time impacted team performance, barring the fact that team VI had too many unforced errors which made the difference in the match.
The Virgin Islands had lost to Antigua in their opening game, 25-15, 25-14 and 25-9.
