Double-crown queens Chargers maintained their unbeaten record as Barbados’ teams had mixed fortunes when the VolleyBarbados Championships were served off on Friday night at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex.
Chargers beat Bois de Boulogne Cavaliers, 25-20, 25-22, 15-25, 25-19, while defending champions, Montreal Carabins stopped league runners-up, the Rockets, 25-21, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16.
Most Valuable Player Dania Hamilton was not at her best against the young Cavaliers but multi-talented Rheann Niles filled any likely gap in the Chargers’ offence.
Ashley Norfleet and Pamela Rouleau played some aggressive shots for the visitors.
Chargers’ failure to close out the sets when they held big leads allowed Cavaliers plenty of confidence which they turned into success in the third set. However, the overall combined strength of Sharon Bovell, Thonya Joseph, Niles, Hamilton and setter Akeelah Blenman gave Chargers the game.
A number of guest players like Anthazia Mason, Shennel Pooler, Janelle Chase-Mayers and Andrea Flores, linking with Shari Matthews for the Rockets were not good enough to stop the Carabins with the big, powerful Marie-Sophie Nadeau digging a trench in the court with her line shots.
With great support from Sophie Bergeron and Gabrielle Vallee Vachon, the Carabins were able to stop a fightback from the Bajans to take the match in four sets.
