The third and deciding match between Castrol Strikers and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in the semifinals of the men’s senior volleyball league was suspended Tuesday evening.
The episode occurred at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue, after the Demerara Volleyball Association (DVA) exceeded their allotted time to utilize the venue, and was forced to depart the facility to allow basketball club Eagles to train during their time slot.
The DVA is allocated the time slot of 7pm-9pm. However, the contest started after 8pm owing to the late arrival of several members of the GDF team.
The officials decided that the match will be suspended and resumed at another date. At the time of the stoppage, GDF was ahead 3-1 in the fourth set, although Castrol Strikers were in control of the overall contest at 2-1.
Prior to the stoppage, the first set highlighted the competitive nature of the contest. Castrol raced into the early lead via a 5-1 run. This was marginally extended at 10-5, before GDF replied with a 5-0 blitz to level the contest at 10-10.
Three other instances of tied scores quickly followed at 12-12, 13-13, and 17-17, before GDF seized the lead at 21-18. Though, another three cases of gridlock ensued at 22-22, 24-24, and 25-25, the army unit nonetheless, prevailed 27-25 following a 2-0 run to take the 1-0 lead.
A 4-4 exchange kicked off the second stanza, continuing in the competitive vein of the previous set. However, Castrol Strikers raced ahead 9-4 owing to a 5-0 run. This was marginally increased at 14-9 following a 6-5 exchange.
GDF fought back to reduce the deficit at 17-15, outscoring their opponents 6-3. Castrol Strikers eventually closed out the set to restore parity to proceedings at 1-1, following an 8-6 exchange.
While the previous two sets were competitive, the third set was all about the dominance of the Castrol Strikers outfit. A 4-1 start led to an eventual 11-7 advantage and they never trailed. The lead was extended to five (16-11) following a 5-4 exchange.
Castrol maintained their grip on the contest at 21-16, as both teams scored five points apiece. The 2-1 lead was then realized, as Castrol won the third set at 25-18 following a 4-2 run. The winner of the match when it officially resumes, will lock horns with Eagles in the final at the same venue in a best of three series.
