UWI Mona volleyball teams back home after sweep in Trinidad

The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona men’s and women’s volleyball teams have returned home after completing a clean sweep at the 2024 UWI Volleyball Games at the UWI St Augustine campus in Trinidad and Tobago.

The teams enjoyed much success over last weekend as they claimed all titles in both the men’s and women’s competitions, sweeping the inter-campus and club competitions.

On the men’s side, UWI Mona took home the inter-campus title after defeating UWI St Augustine in a best of three series before taking the club title after defeating St Augustine Alumni.

The women’s team got the better of UWI St Augustine in the inter-campus final and defeated Glamorgan in the club competition.

Rachel Minto-Walker, UWI Mona games committee chairperson, congratulated the teams for their wins in Trinidad.

“The victory for UWI Mona really means a lot because the teams have been working very hard this year,” she said. “We’re naturally very proud of them and they have been doing well. Some of the athletes are national players competing for their different countries and they have been coming together well as one team at UWI.”

UWI Mona also swept the Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, with Shavar James taking the MVP award and the Best Outside Hitter award for both the men’s inter-campus and club competitions.

Charity Cumberbatch was named the Best Middle Block and the MVP for the women’s inter-campus and club competitions while Johanna Belmar took the awards for the best setter and the MVP for the club competition.

James, who also captained the UWI Mona inter-campus team, said the award was a bonus for him as he felt he was in the form of his life throughout the competition.

“There were no easy games so it was a heartfelt victory for us,” he said. “It was a really great feeling. We would have played some really tough opponents. We played against some of the Caribbean’s best. We played against some of the members of the Trinidad national team, so for me to pull out all the stops and to lead my team was really a great feeling.”

Belmar, who also represents the Trinidad and Tobago national team, said it was a significant competition for her to have won on her home soil.

“For me, I had to step up especially for my team because we already have a strong team. So for me and UWI Mona in Jamaica, I needed to give that extra effort especially for my team if we wanted to stand out and win the tournament in Trinidad.”