Assistant coach hails female volleyballers after first regional triumph
Published:Tuesday | August 1, 2023 | 12:10 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Jamaica’s sensational comeback 3-2 victory over archrivals Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) in the women’s final of the XVIII CAZOVA Senior Caribbean Volleyball Championship in Paramaribo, Suriname, on Sunday was a long time in coming, assistant coach O’Neil Ebanks said at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday shortly after the team returned home.
It was the first time Jamaica were being crowned champions, and the team consisting of Chevonna Lewis, Danielle Watson, Mychael Vernon, Alenadria Ashman, Simone Asque-Favia, Kristin Lumsden, Yolanda Miller, Erica Harris, Sashalee Thomas, Keshan Livingston and Anesia Edwards did it in style, going unbeaten throughout the competition.
Ebanks said it was an arduous journey and that the victory was a result of the players’ resilience and mental fortitude.
“We have been knocking on the door for many years. We have been to the final before and we fell short but this time around the team was well prepared mentally and physically and I thought that was what really brought us through, the mental aspect in the games,” he commented.
“It was a dream before and it has come to reality and I know all the girls, management, coaching staff are feeling the same way. That this dream actually came to reality.”
He pointed out that though they only came together for a short period before the tournament, the players’ attitudes and discipline were spot on and it showed in the fact that they were able to defeat the seven-time champions T&T twice in the same competition.
Jamaica won the first set in the final 25-21 but T&T stormed back to take the second and third sets 25-13, 25-23. However, Jamaica took the fourth set 25-19, before edging the outgoing champions 15-13 to take the deciding set.
“Pound for pound this is the best crop of ladies we have put together. We went all the way for the first time, having remained undefeated and we defeated T&T twice in the same tournament. That says a lot for gallant effort.”
“Each game we played, we would sit and review it. We looked at what we needed to do in the next match, at how other teams play, what they did and what they are not doing and we used that to our advantage.
“When we played T&T the first time we realised we had to make some adjustments. We made those adjustments and when we played Barbados in the semifinal, we had a straight sets victory.
“In the final, we had a 3-2 victory and again that says a lot about the mental part of our game, because without that mental toughness I don’t think we would have been able to do it,” he said.
He added that they now await word from CAZOVA on which international competition their success qualifies them for.
“We are waiting to see what happens next. We haven’t received a definitive response of what will happen. It’s up in the air if it’s the Pan Am Games or Continental Cup. We are not sure which of these we will move on to,” Ebanks said.
Meanwhile, team captain Sashalee Thomas dedicated the victory to veteran player Simone Asque-Favia, who has been the backbone of women’s volleyball in Jamaica.
“Simone has been on the team since 2014. She’s been battling T&T, so this win is just as important to her as to us. So I am glad we have been able to get it for her because without her this team wouldn’t be a team,” Thomas said.