Guadeloupe have continued their progress in World Championship qualification
Grand Cayman, Cayman Island, November 14, 2016 – Guadeloupe led the way in Group C of the CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association) qualifying series for the 2018 FIVB Women’s World Volleyball Championship.
Pascal Douglas’ team won all three of their matches – against the Bahamas, Bonaire and hosts the Cayman Islands – to top the pool and reach the second round of qualifying in Jamaica in July.
They wrapped up the tournament by defeating the Cayman Islands 3-0 (25-14, 25-7, 25-16) and will be joined in Jamaica by the Bahamas, who beat Bonaire 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-11) in their final match.
“We have been preparing for the tournament since February,” coach Pascal Douglas said. “We made a good start and a good finish. We won all nine sets.”
Quick links - Volleyball:FIVB.com - VolleyballFIVB.com
Latest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramMedia Guides
The first round began with Group A action in St. Croix last August, when Barbados, ranked third in CAZOVA and the highest of 12 teams in the three groups, failed to advance to the next round, as ninth-ranked players from Curacao won all three matches to qualify along with the eighth-ranked hosts United States Virgin Islands.
The action in the third and final group, Group B, will take place on November 26 and 27 in Aruba, with teams from Suriname, Haiti, Aruba and Martinique will vie for the two available spots in the second round.
Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, ranked first and second, respectively, have received byes into the second round and will each host half of the six qualifiers in July.
The two group winners, along with the final two teams standing in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association Zone and the Central American Zone, will then compete alongside top-ranked NORCECA teams Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
The top six finishers from this competition will qualify for the 2018 World Championship in Japan, which is due to take place from September 30 – October 21.
The United States received an automatic berth after winning the previous edition in 2014 in Italy.