TT beach volleyball teams in Bajan finals

SHERDON PIERRE

TT top beach volleyballers Rheeza Grant and Abby Blackman (women) as well as Daneil Williams and Dante Stewart (men) are on track to defending their respective Barbados Olympic Association Independence Invitational Games (BIIG) titles.

Playing at Pirate’s Cove Beach, the top TT female pair of Grant/Blackman booked a spot in last night’s final with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Janelle Mayers/Tarah Chase Mayers of Barbados.

In the first set, Grant demonstrated her skills and experience by winning 20 consecutive points of her serves to defeat her Barbadian opponents at 21-2. The TT duo wasted little time in closing off their semi-final match by whipping the host team 21-8 in the second set.

Grant/Blackman will face their TT teammates Tsyan Selvon/Brittany Choon in the women final. The junior pair Selvon/Choon had to work a lot harder than their experienced compatriots to reach the gold-medal match.

In their semi-final match, they won the first set convincingly against Barbadians Marissa Dowell/Shonte Seale 21-6. Selvon/Choon were sailing along comfortably in the second set but stumbled midway to eventually lose 21-17, setting up a nervy final set. Down 5-2 in the third, the TT youngsters took a much-needed time-out to gather their thoughts and it paid off as they went on a seven-point run to lead 9-5. The juniors showed great composure and held their nerves in the end to win 15-12 assuring an all-TT women final.

Stewart/Williams, fresh off their third place NORCECA finish last week in Martinique, reached the men`s final with relative ease.

In the semi-final round, Stewart/Williams overpowered Bajans Sheldon Roach/Ahkeem Roach 21-13, 21-6. The TT pair outfoxed their rivals with smart plays at the net and comprehensive spikes.