Bronze for St Lucia in beach volleyball

Julian Biscette and Joseph Clercent who are household names when it comes to indoor volleyball in St Lucia, proved they are just as proficient on sand following third place finish at the three-day 2012 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Beach Circuit competition which concluded here on Sunday.

The competition which took place near the historic Pigeon Island Landmark featured beach volley at its best, with several international teams on hand in a picturesque setting.

Sadly, St Lucians seemed preoccupied with festivities taking place over the weekend and were few in number. What they missed besides some exciting beach volleyball, were hard-bodied well-tanned male and female players exhibit their skills.

Bissette and Clercent placed third in the competition. They defeated the Trinidad and Tobago duo of Fabien Whitfield/Daniel Williams 21-14, 21-13 on Sunday. The Men’s final was an All American affair with William Montgomery/Jonathan Mesko (USA 1) going up against Jeffrey Carlson/Antonio Ciarelli (USA 2). USA 1 won the gold medal game over USA 2, 21-13, 24-22.

USA 1 advanced to the finals following a win over Whitfield/Williams of T&T 21-12, 25-13. Carlson/Ciareli of USA 2 earned their place in the final after disposing of Biscette/Clercent of St Lucia 21-14, 21-16.

On the women’s side, the USA team of Kathryn Babcock/Tracilyn Weamer recovered after losing the first set. They went on to edge Costa Rica’s Ingrid Morales/Natalie Alfaro in a thrilling gold medal match. The American pair lost their first set of the weekend at the hands of the feisty Costa Rican duo, but bounced back to take the title 2-1. The scores were 17-21, 22-20, 15-12.

Babcock/Weamer advanced to the gold medal game after defeating the Canadian pair of Kristina Vicek/Victoria Cowley 2-0. The scores were 21-10, 21-9. Morales/Alfaro got to the final with a 21-10, 21-9 win over Ayana Dyette/Elki Phillip of Trinidad and Tobago A. Vicek/ Cowley took home the bronze medal with a 26-24, 21-14 victory over Dyette/Phillip.