The C.R. Walkers Knights senior boys volleyball team are riding a perfect season, but up until yesterday evening, they hadn't locked horns with any teams from the nation's second city. It didn't matter to them in the first set, as they came out aggressively and raced out to an 11-1 lead and took that opening set 25-16, but the resilient Bishop Michael Eldon Warriors showed some heart in the second set, making the Knights fight for every point.
In the end, the Knights held on 25-16 and 25-21 as the 2nd Annual National High School Volleyball "Tournament of Champions" got underway at the D.W. Davis Gymnasium. The Warriors actually led for most of the second set, until the Knights took control late. They scored five of the final six points to put the match away.
"I was impressed with the first set, but we got too relaxed in the second set," said Knights' Head Coach Trevor Grant. "This is a national tournament - you have to come out and be ready to perform. We came out flat in the second set. I was more impressed with the Freeport team.
"After we took them out of their rhythm in the first set, they fought hard in the second set. They came out and got the momentum right back, and that is what competition is all about. They didn't give up, and because of that, they almost won the second set. They played extremely well."
Meanwhile, the defending national champions C.V. Bethel Stingrays were in the stands scouting their opponents. However, they weren't initially listed among the teams that were scheduled to take part in this year's nationals. Just the top two teams in the major high school associations in the country are allowed to take part in the nationals.
The Stingrays finished third in the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) this year, but after the top team from the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS), the Queen's College Comets, pulled out, a special invite was sent out to the Stingrays - a move Knights' Head Coach Grant wasn't too pleased with.
"I'm looking forward to playing the teams that are supposed to be in this tournament. You don't come in here as the defending national champions. You come in here as the top teams from your league. Fair is fair, because if something like that had happened to me, I could guarantee you that we would not have been invited. Regardless, once we come out here and do what we're supposed to do, I have no doubt that we could beat any team in this tournament."
The Knights certainly looked like the cream of the crop in the boys division once their opening match got underway yesterday. The GSSSA Champions, and top team out of New Providence, completely took the Warriors out of their game from the onset. A relaxed Warriors team got it together at the end of the first set, and despite falling in that set, they took that momentum over into the second set. They led for most of the second set, until the Knights took charge late.
"We came out flat in the first set," said Warriors' Head Coach Wayne Smith. "If you want to play in this kind of tournament and be competitive in this kind of tournament, you have to be prepared to raise your level of play. I think that we could compete with any of the teams, but we have to be on top of our game. In this kind of tournament, you have to bring your best game at all times.
"As you could see, we were a different team in the second set. I'm confident that once we play with that kind of aggression throughout, we will be okay. I believe that we will be in the final four, and once we make it to the final four, I'm confident of our chances of advancing to the championship."
The Warriors come in as the number two team out of Freeport, Grand Bahama, behind the St. George's Jaguars. The number two team out of the GSSSA behind the Knights is the C.C. Sweeting Cobras, and the Stingrays are third. In other games yesterday, the St. Augustine's College (SAC) Big Red Machine defeated Akhepran International Academy in a senior boys game, 25-21 and 25-21; and in senior girls action, the Knights defeated the Warriors, 25-12 and 25-13, Mt. Carmel overcame Kingsway Academy, 25-13 and 26-24, and SAC split with Teleos Christian Cherubims, 25-17 and 18-25.
The first round of the tournament will be played under a points format. Hence, the 25-17 and 18-25 score for SAC and Teleos. The tournament will continue with a number of games at the D.W. Davis and C.I. Gibson gymnasiums today, and the playoff and championship rounds will be played on Saturday at C.I. Gibson.
The national tournament is being staged by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Bahamas Volleyball Federation (BVF), and it is being sponsored by J.S. Johnson Insurance Limited. A total of 12 teams, six male and six female, from across the country, will compete for the national titles. The Stingrays and SAC are the defending senior boys and senior girls national champions respectively.
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