Volleyball teams sharpen their skills in Kentucky and Jamaica

Bermuda’s national volleyball teams will be travelling to Kentucky and Jamaica as they prepare for the 2013 Natwest Island Games.

 Bermuda is the host country for the 2013 Games, which will be held over July 13 to 19. The indoor volleyball will be contested at Berkeley Institute and Warwick Academy while the beach volleyball will be played at the National Sports Centre using sand from NSC cliffs.

Bermuda’s squads will compete against Saaremaa, Faroe, Aland, and Gotland among others in the Games.

Bermuda’s will travel to Louisville, Kentucky for the US Open Volleyball Championships this weekend.

 Representing the Men’s National team will be: Ian Bucci, Daniel Fiddick, Jon Gazzard, Mike Gazzard, Dave Gletsu, Keiran Hamilton, Gary LeBlanc and Brad Meindersma.

Head coach Bill Bucci said in a press release: “We are very excited to be traveling to Kentucky for the US Open Championship.  Our travel team roster for this event has players with a variety of experiences. 

“We have players who have been part of the National Team program since the beginning in 2002, such as Jon Gazzard, Mike Gazzard, and Gary LeBlanc; we have players who have come up through the ranks of the BVA youth programme, such as “Ian Bucci and Daniel Fiddick; and we have a current member of our youth programme in Keiran Hamilton. Dave Gletsu and Brad Meindersma are experienced players who have been with the program for several years. 

“The competition at this event is always at a high level and we can't wait to see how we stack up”. 

 Following the US Open, the Women’s National team will also travel to Kingston, Jamaica, for the second round of the 2014 FIVB World Championships, to compete against Jamaica, Suriname and Nicaragua, on June 1 and 2.  The top three teams from this tournament will move onto the third round of qualifying.

 Representing the Women’s National team at the US Open will be: Lisa Leblanc, Stacey Dorush, Melissa Fiddick, Wendy Gazzard, Allison Lacoursiere, Denise Mullican, Khianda Pearman-Watson, Elisabeth Rae, Alana Rathbun Swiss, Vikki Stevenson, Heather Wearmouth. 

Slight changes to the roster will occur for the Jamaica tournament, with the additions of Michaela Eberly, and Sarah Mentzel; with Wendy Gazzard, Allison Lacoursiere and Heather Wearmouth not travelling.

 Head coach Juanita Blee said: “The ladies team is looking forward to our trips to both Kentucky and Jamaica.  These events are key to our training as warm up for the 2013 NatWest Island Games as it will give team members an opportunity to play at a higher level of competition and get some experience under our belt before the Games.”