Large crowds flocked to Seven Mile Beach last weekend to watch some of the world’s most promising young athletes serve up elite volleyball action by the Caribbean Sea.
The United States came away as Under-23 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Tour champions for both the men’s and women’s divisions on Sunday after an action-packed weekend.
The event, which took place at Seven Mile Public Beach on 29-30 Oct., featured six of the region’s most elite duos, and marked the first time the tournament has been held in Cayman.
“To compete against teams like the United States, with 330 million people… I feel like there’s a lot of potential for Caribbean nations and beach volleyball,” Edward Drakich, NORCECA beach volleyball director told the Cayman Compass. “I think this is a good step in filling that developmental gap.”
Thomas Hurst and Gage Basey of the US claimed the men’s championship after defeating Canada’s Trent Ketrzynski and Rouzbeh Rahnavard 2-1 (23-21, 17-21, 15-11) on Sunday afternoon.
In the women’s final, Americans Ella Connor and Piper Ferch were victorious over Canadians Ruby Sorra and Kaylee Glagau in a match that ended 2-1 (18-21, 21-11, 22-20).
The Cayman Islands Volleyball Federation entered four teams into the tournament – three female teams and one male team, who welcomed the competition to what is perhaps one of the most picturesque sports venues in the world.
The Cayman teams struggled against high-level athletes at the top of their game but learned from the experience.
Speaking with the Compass after her final match of the tournament, Anjia Delapenha, who placed fifth along with partner Lucie Finlason, said she was pleased with the results and the event as a whole.
“In terms of organising, I think we are the best host when it comes to volleyball tournaments,” Delapenha said. “I do think we need to work on [our skills].”
She noted that their second game against Trinidad and Tobago was winnable, but they came up short in the last set, losing the match 1-2 (21-13, 13-21, 10-15).
“We won our first set and lost our second, and unfortunately, our third,” she said. “It was neck-and-neck. If we had won that, we would’ve been in the semifinals… there is a lot of room for growth.”
Drakich agreed, telling the Compass that the mega event was a learning experience for Cayman’s young players.
“You can see that the Cayman teams are young, but you’ve got to start somewhere and, by hosting this tournament, Cayman got to have… four teams get valuable experience,” he said. “If this happens every year, then you’ll start to see the Cayman teams going higher and higher in their performances.”
Cayman is set to host the senior 2022 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour from 11-13 Nov. Drakich said he hopes Cayman will be able to host major tournaments going forward.
As for the just-concluded tournament, he said the “inaugural event… was a big success in my opinion,” he said, adding he hopes Cayman can host it again next year.
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