TT0-3, TTO-5 unbeaten ahead of Under-23 men Invitational semis
PABLO EL POA, SANTA CRUZ, Trinidad and Tobago, August 19, 2022. The Trinidad and Tobago-3 team of Nicholas Williams and Joshua Persaud and Trinidad and Tobago-5 pair of Daynte Stewart and Jahreef Miguel will go into their respective all-local semifinals of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) men’s Under-23 Beach Volleyball Invitational Tournament with perfect 2-0 records.
This is after TTO-3 and TTO-5 topped their respective pools and will come up against Elijah Best/Josiah Butcher (TTO-2), and Jushawn Morrison and Omari Leid (TTO-1) in their respective semifinals from 12 noon, and 11 am respectively on Sunday.
On Saturday, Williams and Persaud (TTO-3) defeated Morrison and Leid (TTO-1) 2-0 (21-11, 21-10) to add to their win against Dejaun Williams/Laquan Dyer (TTO-4) 2-0 (21-9, 21-13) to top Pool A while Morrison and Leid ended second with a 1-1 record following their battling victory against Williams and Dyer (TTO-4) 2-0 (21-19, 21-19).
And in Pool B, Stewart and Miguel were made to pull out all their bag of tricks to get over a spirited display from Bermudans, Benjamin Barnett and Connor Somerville, 2-1 (21-18, 14-21, 15-11) after the latter led 6-3 in the deciding set.
On Friday, Stewart and Miguel won their opener against Elijah Best/Josiah Butcher (TTO-2) (2-1) 19-21, 21-16, 15-6 while Best and Butcher rebounded to beat Benjamin Barnett/Connor Somerville (Bermuda) (2-0) 21-16, 21-14.
Due to only one international team being involved the men’s competition will not be recognized as a CAZOVA event with the second leg which will also serve off at the same venue in Santa Cruz from August 26-28 and will see teams from Suriname, Barbados, and Turks and Caicos entered to gain international status once the number of international teams surpasses reaches four.
Following the two legs in T&T, NORCECA is expected to host the Under-23 event in the Cayman Islands at a date to be confirmed while CAZOVA will play host to remaining stops in Aruba, Jamaica, and Bonaire in December.
Saturday’s Men’s Under-23 results:
Pool A:
Jushawn Morrison/Omari Leid (TTO-1) def Dejaun Williams/Laquan Dyer (TTO-4) 2-0 (21-19, 21-19)
Nicholas Williams/Joshua Persaud (TTO-3) def Jushaun Morrison/Omari Leid (TTO-1) 2-0 (21-11, 21-10)
Pool B:
Daynte Stewart/Jahreef Miguel (TTO-5) def Benjamin Barnett/Connor Somerville (Bermuda) 2-1 (21-18, 14-21, 15-11)
Sunday’s schedule:
Semifinals:
11 am: Daynte Stewart/Jahreef Miguel (TTO-5) vs Jushawn Morrison/Omari Leid (TTO-1)
12 noon: Elijah Best/Josiah Butcher (TTO-2) vs Nicholas Williams/Joshua Persaud (TTO-3)
Fifth place:
2 pm: Benjamin Barnett/Connor Somerville (Bermuda) vs Dejaun Williams/Laquan Dyer (TTO-4)
1 pm: Bronze medal playoff
4 pm: Gold medal playoff