Island nation to host second round of qualifying April 27-28

FIVB Web Site
NORCECA Web Site
Saint Lucia Volleyball Official Facebook Page
Saint Lucia Volleyball Official Twitter Account
Wikipedia Page Detailing NORCECA Qualifying Competition 

GROS ISLET, Saint Lucia (April 25, 2013) – Assistant Coach Amobi Armstrong of the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team has returned to his native Saint Lucia this month, in preparation to play at the national level this week in the second round of NORCECA qualifying for the 2014 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship. Saint Lucia will host Haiti, El Salvador and Saint Kitts and Nevis on April 27-28 at Beausejour Indoor Stadium in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.

NORCECA -- the North, Central and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation -- is in the second round of a three-round process to determine its five representatives to the next Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Men's Volleyball World Championship, scheduled for Sept. 3-21, 2014 in Poland. Saint Lucia is hosting one of six four-team pools in the second round. Each of the four squads in Saint Lucia will play a round robin against each other, with the top two teams meeting again in a final. The winner of the final match will receive a berth to one of four third-round pools, which will compete in May or June of 2014. Across all six second-round pools, the top four runner-up teams will advance to the third round as well.

The six top-ranked teams in NORCECA were advanced to the third round before qualification began. Saint Lucia is currently ranked 11th in the Confederation and swept through the first round of qualification without dropping a set.

Saint Lucia will face Haiti at 9 a.m. (all times EDT) and El Salvador at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 27, before wrapping up pool play against Saint Kitts and Nevis at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 28. Both the consolation and final match are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Armstrong has been a member of the Saint Lucia national team since 2005 and was previously named the country's Junior Volleyball Player of the Year in both 2003 and 2004.

Franklin Pierce finished the 2012 season 19-15 (12-3 Northeast-10), to finish third in the Northeast-10 and set a program record for Conference victories along the way. The team hosted a postseason match for the first time in program history, and was ultimately rewarded with the program's first trip to the NCAA Championship, as the fifth seed in the East Regional.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).