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Trinidad and Tobago’s senior women’s volleyballers were handed a straight-sets scolding by the USA in the opening match of Group A at the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship, held at the “Professor Ricardo Gioriber Arias” Volleyball Palace in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Friday (August 21).
Comprising mostly Under-23 players, the Gideon Dickson-coached T&T team went down 6-25, 11-25, 4-25 in 56 minutes against the Americans.
USA, eight-time tournament winners, easily dominated the inexperienced “Calypso Spikers”. The T&T offence only reached double figures in the second set, as the Americans were superior in attacks (41-7) and aces (19-2), while T&T held a slight edge in blocks (1-0).
The top scorer for America was Asjia O’Neal with 18 points, followed by Stephanie Samedy with 14 and Dana Rettke with nine. T&T got a team-best four points from Thia Wilson, while Sadie Torkar chipped in with two.
Speaking after the match, Dickson said: ”The USA played us hard from the beginning. Our team is very young and still learning, so this game gives us valuable experience to keep improving.”
Today, T&T resumes its Group A campaign in the eight-team competition, which doubles as a qualifier on the path to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with a 1 pm clash against Canada, while the USA faces Mexico at 6 pm.
Also on Friday in Group A, Canada defeated Mexico 25-21, 25-23, 25-22. Last night in Group B, Puerto Rico faced 13-time winners Cuba, before the hosts and reigning three-time champions, Dominican Republic, closed out the schedule against Costa Rica.
T&T will complete round-robin pool play tomorrow against Mexico at 3.30 p.m., while the USA meets Canada at 6 pm.
The current T&T squad features only three players who participated in the recently held Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games at the same venue, where the team finished eighth with a 0-5 record. The three returning players are Rayquelle Dickson, Thia Wilson, and Ximara Phillip.
Desiree Donald, L’fe Roberts, and Ruth St Louis were ruled out due to school commitments in the USA, while Malika Davidson and Afiesha Olton-Humphriesare out due to injuries. Additionally, the quartet of Kiune Fletcher, Jalicia Ross-Kydd, Makila York, and Renele Forde were unavailable due to prior commitments.
At the conclusion of the round-robin group stage, the top team in each group automatically advances to the semifinals, while the second- and third-place teams will cross over in the quarterfinals to decide the remaining two semifinal spots. The fourth-placed teams in each pool will play the losers of the quarterfinals in the fifth-to-eighth place semifinals.
In addition to the continental title, three berths to the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship will be at stake. The championship will also determine the teams that will continue on the road to Los Angeles 2028.
The top four teams in the final standings, excluding the USA as host country of the Olympic Games, will advance to the NORCECA Continental Qualifier, to be held at the same venue on August 28-29, with one Olympic berth at stake.
The USA has already qualified for the Olympic Games as the host nation of Los Angeles 2028.
Remaining preliminary fixtures:
Saturday (August 22)
• ↓Canada vs T&T, 1 pm
• ↓Puerto Rico vs Costa Rica, 3.30 pm
• ↓USA vs Mexico, 6 pm
• ↓Dominican Republic vs Cuba, 8.30 pm
Sunday (August 23)
• ↓Cuba vs Costa Rica, 1 pm
• ↓Mexico vs T&T, 3.30 pm
• ↓USA vs Canada, 6 pm
• ↓Dominican Republic vs Puerto Rico, 8.30 pm
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