Thursday, May 10 2012

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TRINIDAD and Tobago Men’s volleyballers succumbed to their second defeat in Group ‘A’ of the NORCECA Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament when they went down to Mexico 3-1 at the Walter Pyramid in California on Tuesday night.

The defeat followed their opening match defeat to the USA only the day before (Monday night). The Mexicans took the advantage early 25-18 before the TT men stormed back to secured the second 25-19 and level the game. However the Mexicans pulled away to secure victory by winning the other two sets 25-21 and 25-22.

The TT men showed an improvement in attack against the Mexicans as Ryan Stewart scored 17 and Tash, who scored six points against the Americans, tallied 16. After the game coach Gideon Dickson said, “Our team played in spurts. We didn’t capitalise on any of the opportunities given to us. The victories for the other teams show their experience and the calibre of their players.”

According to Dickson “I know this tournament will be tough and competitive but we would like to produce some surprises.

We are happy to represent our country and the Caribbean region here.”

“Our goal is to be competitive each day. Mexico had experience and poise during crucial parts of the game and that was the difference. It has been six years since we took a set from them so that’s a plus,” Dickson pointed out.

The TT men were slated to face Costa Rica late last night (Wednesday night). In other group ‘A’ action Costa Rica were outclassed by Mexico (25-16, 25-18, 25-20) and were also convincingly beaten by the USA (25-14, 25-14, 25-9).

Meanwhile, in Group B, Canada outfoxed the Dominican Republic 25-21, 25-13, 25-15 and Cuba defeated Puerto Rico 25-20, 25-18, 25-18 on the opening day. Tuesday’s action saw Cuba slam the Dominican Republic 25-15, 25-21, 25-15. Canada then triumphed over Puerto Rico by 25-19, 25-20, 25-13.