Canadians reserve berths in quarter-finals of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tournament
The second stop of NORCECA (North & Central America and Caribbean Confederation) is underway in Guatemala.
The tournament kicked off on Friday, April 8 with 35 Beach Volleyball duos of both genders. A total of 17 women’s and 18 men’s teams from Canada, Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, U.S. Virgin
Islands, United States-1, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Cuba entered the competition. The first preliminary round of the tournament staged some thrilling matches on the opening day of the tournament.
Playing in the robin round of the tournament, the Canadian teams demonstrated their mesmerizing skills and rocked the podium. Three out of four pairs clinched success in their respective matches and advanced to the quarter-finals.
Redmann/Saxton vs. Collins/Percival 2-0 (21-8, 21-6)
The Canadian duo was challenged by their counterparts from St. Kitts and Nevis on Saturday, 9th April. Christian Redmann and Ben Saxton of Canada had clear advantage over the under-dog pairing of Carl Steadroy Collins and Kemoroy of SKN.
Redmann opened the match with strong serves. He took bigger run-ups and supplied enough power to the ball. On the other hand, Saxton perfectly complimented his partner and devastated the defence of opponents. He directed the ball in gaps and added quick
points.
The SKN players were down with too many ball-reception errors. They could not make a good impression on the strong Canadian side and received first-set defeat with a margin of 12 points (8-21).
After capturing the first set, the Canadian team put more pressure on the rival side. They showed no mercy and totally dominated the opposite side. They played confidently and kept an upper hand on the SKN Team. In the second set, Collins tried to score
points with his cross-court shots but Redmann killed his attack attempts and saved the points. SKN side finished the second set with a score of 6, while Canadian duo claimed the match.
Redmann shared his thoughts after the match. He stated, “We played a little better today than yesterday. We are just trying to take it one game at a time and get better as the tournament goes on.”
Hatch/Schachter vs. Whitfield/Williams 2-0 (22-20, 21-15)
The Canadian pairing of Maverick Hatch and Sam Schachter played an exciting match with home duo of Fabien Whitfield and Daniel Williams. The hosts were equipped with emotional support of local fans.
Besides, they were more familiar with the local environment and started out really well in the opening set of the match. The Canadian players hit wonderful shots but they were put with great resistance from the opposite side.
Daniel Williams put his hands up in the air at almost every shot by Canadians. They saved many crucial points but Canadian team continued its spirited effort. The score shifted up with a close gap.
However, after the second technical timeout the real fight started. Both sides exchanged long rallies. Canadian team put up a good fight and managed to take lead in the game. The home could not deal with some tricky pushes of Hatch and gave way to Canada’s
better status in first set. Guatemala team dropped the first set with a gap of 2 points (20-22).
The second set was also a ball of fury. The raged-up Guatemalan duo hit back strongly but Canadian side defended well. The visitors remained ahead in the game and clawed their way to victory in second set by posting 21-15. The Canadian duo booked a slot
in the quarter-finals with this particular win over Guatemala.
Girls’ section
The women’s duo of Heather Bansley and Liz Maloney from Canada also created a major sensation on the centre court. They defeated teams from Nicaragua and Dominican Republic on Saturday and settled for quarter-finals with Costa Rican Team.
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