As action continued yesterday in the ‘Road 2 Recovery’ Volleyball International tournament, which is being staged at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue, the clubs from Suriname showed their class with wins from the Yelyco female and male teams as well as the Yellow Birds.
In a rematch from Friday night, the Demerara Senior Male Team looked to avenge their opening-night defeat at the hands of Yelyco. They began the game looking like a side out for revenge and clinched a narrow 25-23 victory over the Surinamese.
However, set 2 saw Yelyco respond with class, securing a decisive 25-16 win. Undeterred, Demerara fought valiantly in set 3, but Yelyco’s precision proved formidable, as they claimed the set 25–18. The atmosphere reached a fever pitch in set 4, with Demerara mounting a remarkable comeback that had spectators holding their breath. The nail-biting finish saw Demerara edge out Yelyco with a razor-thin margin, sealing the set 26–24.
As anticipation soared into the final set, Yelyco reasserted their dominance with a commanding 15-8 triumph to leave the bitter taste of defeat in the mouths of the Demerara side again.
Meanwhile, in the opening encounter of the day, the Yelyco women clashed with the formidable Big Sepos out of Trinidad and Tobago. In a ruthless opening set, Yelyco stamped their authority on the game in emphatic fashion with a commanding 25-12 opening set win over the Trinidadians.
Sharon Balkaran, the crux of Yelyco’s offence, was severe on anything at spiking height with her precision and power. However, the Big Sepos women fought back tooth and nail in the second set to take it to a nail-biting 25-23 win. As winners usually do, Yelyco showed their class to secure the third set, 25-20. Now back in the driving seat, the fourth set saw Yelyco seal the game with a dominating 25-12 score-line.
The Big Sepos men stepped up next and faced Suriname’s Yellow Birds. The match served up a five-set treat, with the Yellow Birds claiming victory with a 3-2 win. The first set saw the Yellow Birds hold out to edge Big Sepos 25-23, but the latter came roaring back to secure a 25-19 victory in the second set to tie things up. The third set was a repeat of the second, with Big Sepos once again clinching a 25-19 win.
From here, the Yellow Birds dug deep to come back to a 25-21 victory in the fourth set, setting the stage for a decisive fifth set. Through sheer determination, the Yellow Birds soared to a 15-10 triumph, hence securing the match 3-2. Up until press time, several matches were underway.
