HOST Jamaica were crowned champions of the 2015 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Under-19 Championship after defeating Barbados in straight sets at the GC Foster College Auditorium on Sunday.

The Jamaicans won the contest 25-22, 25-23, 25-16 to top the four-team tournament and claim the country’s first-ever title in an international volleyball competition at any level.

The team will now represent CAZOVA in the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Under-19 tournament which will be held sometime later this year or next year.

Jamaica also executed a measure of revenge on the defending champions, who had earlier defeated them 3-1 in a four-set game on the first day of the tournament last Thursday.

In Sunday’s final, Jamaica overcame a six-point deficit in what was a keenly contested first set that got the home crowd, consisting mainly of college students, cheering wildly.

Barbados again began the second set racing to an 8-2 lead before Jamaica went on an eight-one run to lead 10-9. The Jamaicans later went up 13-9, as they tried to race to a two-set lead, but Barbados kept them at bay. The defending champions came into the final on a four-game unbeaten streak and were spurred on by their outside hitter Brandon Callender, who had 18 spikes, and libero Akeel Oxley, as they rallied to take the lead 22-18.

Jamaica clawed their way back to eke out a close win 25-23 after a short time-out break, but the Barbadians battled bravely, despite facing the daunting task of winning three straight sets against an opponent growing in confidence. The influence of captain Jovan Thomas, who was later named the tournament’s MVP, propelled Jamaica to a comfortable 25-16 win to snatch the title. Thomas led from the front with nine left-hand spikes which were virtually unstoppable, while Shavar James had six.

Amid cheers, the players waved banner flags and rolled around on the court in celebration.

“I am extremely satisfied. Like I have been saying at the beginning the guys are young but they are hard-working. They never complained and every training session they got better and every game they got better,” said an elated Steve Davis following the historic win. “We took a set from Barbados in the first match and that set was 25-14 so we knew we had what it takes to beat them.”

Davis said the team was relaxed and very confident before Sunday’s final and it showed on the court.

John Stuart, the head coach of the dethroned champions said the unforced errors proved to be the downfall of his team. “It was unforced errors and too many bad serves,” he said in an attempt to explain why his team had been outplayed in the final. “In all fairness, Jamaica played better than Barbados and deserved to win.”

He added that a number of his players may have been unnerved playing in the final. “A bit of fright had some of the fellas,” he said.

Callender, who Stuart said had an excellent game in the final, was voted Best Spiker along with fellow countryman Jiovanne Forde-Watson. Callender also won the award for Best Server and one for Best Scorer.

Haiti’s Denilson Francois and Jamaica’s Devounte Bennett won awards as the Best Blockers.

The award for Best Libero went to Trinidad and Tobago’s Marley Davidson.