The teams that will battle for the 2024 CAZOVA Zonal Under-19 Men’s and Women’s Championships were decided in the semifinals of the tournament at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town on Friday.
Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados will do battle for the men’s crown after convincing semifinal straight set victories over the US Virgin Islands and Jamaica, respectively.
Despite finishing in three sets, the match between T&T and USVI was about as competitive as you can get.
Trinidad & Tobago won the first set 25-23 before taking the next two 25-21 and 25-22, respectively.
The match between Jamaica and Barbados was competitive for two of the three sets. Barbados won the first 25-20 before winning the second 25-21. The third set was the least competitive, with the Bajans winning 25-13.
On the women’s side, hosts Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago made it to the final after five set wins over USVI and Barbados, respectively.
Jamaica won the first set 25-20 before USVI levelled proceedings with a 25-19 second set win.
Jamaica were back to their dominant best with a 25-15 third set victory before, once again, USVI showed grit and determination to tie things up a 2-2 with a 25-23 win in the fourth set.
The fifth set was also close, with the hosts eventually winning 15-10.
Trinidad & Tobago showed grit and determination of their own in different circumstances. They played an excellent first two sets, winning them 25-21 and 25-16 to go 2-0 up. Barbados battled back, however, with a 25-23 win in the third set and 25-22 win in the fourth to set up a deciding fifth.
In the end, only two points separated them with T&T winning the final set 15-13 to secure a spot in the final.
The finals are scheduled for Monday, August 5.