Jennifer just misses out on bronze prize
Livingston’s Jennifer Lee came agonisingly close to capturing a bronze medal for Scotland at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.
The 17-year-old was competing in Scotland’s first-ever Beach Volleyball team at the Commonwealth Youth Games but her hopes of a medal were dashed at the final hurdle when Lee and her partner Emma Waldie lost to Rwanda in the bronze medal match.
The pair were looking to cap an outstanding Youth Games tournament but went down 21-15, 24-26, 15-10.
Lee commented:“It is hard to take the loss. We fought so hard and gave ourselves a really good chance of winning it.
“We have so much to be proud of though. We have exceeded our expectations we set at the start of the tournament and being part of the larger team has been an experience neither of us will forget.”
She added:“We will continue to work hard and develop our game. This is just the start for us.”
The pair had been in brilliant form throughout the competition, overcoming a shaky start to get the better of Vanuata in the opening game in straight sets despite the midafternoon heat seemingly playing a factor in a tight second set
They followed that up with another straight sets win the following day, sealing a 21-13, 21-12 triumph over Jamaica.
That set up a quarterfinal berth against the host nation on the third day of the competition and, once again, the pair put in a sensational performance as they eased to a 21-5, 21-14 win which set up a semi-final clash against favourites New Zealand.
After falling to a 21-12 loss in the opening set, the Scots came bitterly close to forcing a third set but went down 22-20 before again falling narrowly short the bronze medal match against Rwanda.
Australia went on to defeat New Zealand comfortably in straight sets in the final to grab the gold medal.