RBTT Deacons’ bid to win their 20th volleyball league crown took a serious blow after they were shocked in five sets by Cawmere in Sunday’s opening round of the 2010 season.
That was one week after Deacons lost their knockout title, thanks to an upset from newboys O-Aces, with the champions suffering indigestion when a buffet of seven matches were served up at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex.
In spite of former Barbados captain Elwyn Oxley’s return to Deacons’ line-up, the defending champions folded against the attack of Cawmere led by the swinging
Shawn Simpson.
Squash champion Simpson enjoyed a spike-fest with Oxley and the southpaw scored two one-on-one blocks on Oxley in the deciding set to take the game 17-25, 25-22, 25-21, 18-25, 17-15.
The Deacons versus Cawmere’s game proved to be the last item on the menu and most of the fans had left the Gym, figuring that all of the good stuff had been served already.
Perhaps their historical knowledge of Deacons coming back from the brink so often in the past or their biblical ignorance of when the “best wine” was served, saw many fans missing a tantalising after-dinner glass on Sunday night.
Deacons’ fans and players had turned up at the Gym decked out in brand new shirts boldly emblazoning Are You Really Trying? Or, Are We Just That Good? Those shirts proved to be the proverbial red flag to the raging bull of Simpson, Wendell Beckles, Fabian Bartlett, Rafael Lovell, Gavin Brewster and all-confident setter Rory Goddard, as they hurtled Oxley and company to an inauspicious start to their new league season.
With Oxley battling to rescue Deacons from being down two sets to one, a further bit of drama was added in the fourth set with Simpson going down with a knee injury as Deacons took charge of that set.
Simpson returned for the decider and the pendulum swung back and fourth in the fifth. Simpson lost three successive points which saw Cawmere slip from 5-3, to 5-7.
With scores locking at 10, 11, 12 and 13, Deacons had the chance to take the match at 14-13, before Simpson executed two massive one-on-one blocks on Oxley at 13-14 and 14-14.
A returned block on Simpson at game and set point 15-14, fortuitously crashed into his size 12 shoe for Cawmere to save and win the point when Deacons were almost celebrating victory.
With Oxley in the back court and Deacons being forced to summon his attack from that area, Cawmere were able to exploit the sub-par play of Kenwin Inniss to capture the set 17-15.
Earlier, new knockout kings Progressive battled from a set down to stop Sunpower Foundation United 23-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-19.
Chargers, runners-up in the knockouts, beat O-Aces 25-13, 25-13, 22-25, 25-23, while the BNB Juniors upset Friendly Hall 25-18, 18-25, 25-15, 25-23.
The women’s matches ran to form with knockout queens Chargers dumping Carefree Toners 25-21, 25-20, 27-25; British American Insurance Jackson beat 8000 Inc. Carlton 25-21, 25-21, 25-16 and the Rockets wasted no time in guzzling Powerade The Club 25-7, 25-11, 25-12.
