Phoenix Red successfully defended their Power League Title with a 3-1 victory against Phoenix Blue. Photo: Charlie E. Jackson/VINO

Danielle Selkridge was given superb sets by Jackie Weekes and more often than not smashed home kills. Photo: Charlie E. Jackson/VINO

MVP Valissia Brathwaite inspired the Reds to recover from losing the 1st set. Photo: Charlie E. Jackson/VINO

Sharonda Pickering played her best game of the season and is seen here blocking a Sabinah Clement attempted winner. Photo: Charlie E. Jackson/VINO

Clement and Tyalia Nibbs can only watch as Bratwaite gets her fingertips to a Pickering smash. Photo: Charlie E. Jackson

Which side will the ball drop? Pickering and Errica Wade hope its a winner whilst Clement and Nibbs pray its a block. Photo: Charlie E. Jackson/VINO

Brathwaite brilliant, Selkridge shines, but Pickering is poetry in motion.

Pre-game build up and expectation had all been about the match up of rivals and USVI National team mates Valissia Brathwaite and Danielle Selkridge and although those two glorious and glamorous players didn’t disappoint, the longer lasting memory of the night’s action will be the performance of Sharonda Pickering.

The first set went to the Blues with an unexpected but brilliant 25-14 score line.

Having raced into an 8-2 lead on the back of a trio of Selkridge Kills that extended that lead to 15-5 on the back of the same player serving 4 screaming serves, Pickering took control of the Blues defensively and more importantly offensively, quite literally covering the whole court and powering her team to the early lead.

First up she blocked Sabinah Clement at the net to make it 17-7, then she made two towering kills to make it 19-7 and two more blocks made the score 23-8.

Serving at 24-8, Pickering should have then served the set out, but after some back and forth at the net she mis-timed her attempted kill from a Jackie Weeks set. However, any disappointment didn’t last long as Weekes set Selkridge for the final kill that just evaded Tyalia Nibbs’ attempted block.

“Pickering was a beast on deck. In the first set, she got her hands on every ball, controlled the net and is our best up and coming player,” commented Coach Willis Potter. “Look out for Sharonda Pickering,” he added

The Reds, full of experience and determination to repeat as champions, regrouped for the second set and took it 25-18. The set was neck and neck and there was nothing more than a two point lead for either team until Brathwaite served and smashed her team to a 16-11 advantage. Selkridge stopped the rot with a kill past Nibbs and then served to make it 16-14, courtesy of a couple of Pickering Kills.

After a series of unforced errors by the Blues, the Reds opened up a 6-point gap at 20-14 but Pickering killed from a Selkridge set to get the points tally moving again and a Selkridge double brought the score to 23-17 before Brathwaite unfurled like a coiled cobra to unleash a kill of deadly venom past Pickering and Clement Kill- finished the set and leveled the game at 1-1.

“We played dead in the beginning, but we had a chat and picked up the pace. Early we were just watching the ball drop and not moving,” commented Brathwaite. ”Selkridge had her passes and her sets so we needed to match that and execute with better coverage and execution, which we did.”

The third game began equally as tight as the second with the teams reaching 8-8 mainly on the back of unforced mistakes, but highlighted by kills from Selkridge and Pickering as well as blocks from Clement. It stayed just as close right through to Red’s lead of 18-16 with an Elizabeth Vintzen kill, a Nibbs ace and a Brathwaite kill and block, the latter a block from  Selkridge attempted kill,  punctuating the Reds points tally, whilst a Kirsten Malone ace, a brace of Selkridge kills and a Wade winner, kept the Blues in the game.

Clement blocked Selkridge to make it 19-16, but then she mis-hit her serve to make it 19-17. Brathwaite hit yet another stinging kill to make it 20-17, but the lithe, long levered Selkridge smashed a winner to make it 20-18.

Javelyn Frett, another ESHS prospect, then pulled off an amazing diving winner to make it 20-19 before Brathwaite put the Reds on the brink of securing the set with a ferocious kill. An error by Natasha Lettsome gave the Blues an opening back into the set, but Weekes served long and Lettsome atoned with two deep serves that were too hot for the Blues to handle and sending the Reds to a 25-20 win as well as a 2-1 set lead.

Pickering opened the fourth set with 3 quick winning points before Brathwaite got the Reds on the board at 3-1. A Selkridge kill and a block of Brathwaite made it 5-1, but the battling Reds made it another 8-8 set on a couple of Selkridge errors, a kill by Clement and Pickering hitting long.

Pickering made it 9-8 to the blues and then drew them level at 10-10 with a kill and a block, but then the set was blown open by the serving of Vintzen.

Her eight consecutive serve, the longest run of the match, put the Reds in complete control of the set and the match and was only ended with the score at 19-12 after Vintzen had blocked a Selkridge kill only for Nibbs to miss the rebound.

It mattered little as Brathwaite pulled of the kill of the night past Weekes and Selkridge to make it 20-12. Lettsome blocked Selkridge to make it 21-12, Brathwaite killed again to make it 22-12, and Varlack couldn’t reach Nibbs’ serve to make it 23-12.

She then served out, but Clements smash deflected off Weeks and dropped between Selkridge and Wade to make it 24-14. Wade then pulled off a kill to make it 24-15 but as the Reds recovered, Malone’s served and then half blocked Wades attempted kill. Brathwaite was then on hand to smash home the winner at 25-14.

“I asked my  team to give their all, give the best, leave everything out there and go for the win,” stated captain Tyalia Nibbs. “Selkridge did her job and I want to congratulate her, she played well. I also take my hat off to Weekes, her courage in coming out with such a young team and doing so well to reach the championship should be applauded. Valissia is my girl and she played so well all season and tonight helped us pull out the win””

Losing Coach, Potter offered his congratulations to the winning Red team. “In the first set we played quality volleyball, passed well, set well and took our chances, but then we started making a few errors, missing a chance here and missing a chance there. However, congratulations to them and we will just have to work on our consistency, our serving and our passing under pressure. We only dropped two matches all season and are now getting more comfortable playing against the bigger girls.”

During the award ceremony, Selkridge was named as recipient of Most Kills and Blocks during the Championship, Amondona Creese was named as Best Passer, Weekes as Best Server and MVP as Brathwaite and of course Phoenix Reds lifted the Championship Trophy with their 3-1 victory.