BY DEAN GREENAWAY

Ten years after winning its first medal as the bridesmaid, the BVI’s women’s team struck gold Sunday night for the first time with a domineering straight set 25-21, 25-23 and 25-21 victory over St. Kitts in the OECS Volleyball Championships in Antigua. Former champs St. Lucia who won the first 12 editions of the tournament placed third and defending champs Dominica was fourth.
BVI Amateur Volleyball Association president Roy Barry said the victory shows that hard works pays off. “We have been attending this tournament for some time and the closest we came was a silver medal, but that was some years back,” said Barry who guided the team then. “With dedication and hard work they won a gold medal. Judging from a tournament in St. Thomas in late August, the team’s level of play has really improved. After that, I thought that the chances of winning gold at this OECS tournament would have been excellent.”
The road to the gold began with a confidence building triumph over defending champs Dominica in a five set thriller 25-23, 19-25, 26-28, 25-21 and 15-13. They followed up with a four set 25-23, 20-25, 25-12 and 25-22 victory over St. Kitts before a straight set  25-16, 25-12 and 25-20 win over St. Maarten to complete the first round unbeaten. The BVI met Dominica again beating them in another seesaw thriller 19-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-12 and 16-14 to advance to the championship game against St. Kitts.
Coach Stephen Payne said beating Dominica in the opener was a big boost for the team’s morale. “We had the mental edge when we met them again so the girls were more confident and it showed in their play,” Payne said. “Dominica had us 14-11 and the fifth set and we came from behind and eventually beat them 16-14.”
Payne said after they reach the final, they knew St. Kitts had been a torn in the BVI’s flesh over the last 10 years. “Because we overcame them in the preliminaries, this again proved to the BVI team that they we unstoppable and in the final beat them in straight sets.”
After attending the tournament for the last 11 years, Payne said they felt the time was time right to come home with the gold, as several players are considering retiring. “We thought it would be fitting that we go out with a bang this year to bring those players who have been considering retiring some satisfaction.” Jackie Weeks won the MVP and best attacker award. Patti Romney picked up best setter and Sabinah Mason best blocker.