After losing the first leg of the playoff final to Playvolley, Hibs were able to turn the result in their favour by winning the remaining two matches 3-0 each and winning the league for the fourth consecutive time.
In a tense match last Saturday and in front of a sizeable crowd, it was a determined Hibs that forced a decider. Both teams started of very well each cancelling the respective point’s advantage out. However it was Hibs that managed to edge through and win a close first set 26-24.
Playvolley were in no mood to give up and immediately leaped to a 6-1 advantage during the second set with excellent spikes by Maria Demicoli and Daniela Bonnici.
However, it was the Paolites who were on top during the first time-out as these managed to turn the score in their favour 8-7 with Carmen Gauci and Alison Borg Hayman scoring precious points. Both coaches encouraged a very tactical game with each player making full use of balls distributed by both setters.
This time out proved crucial to Hibs as these gave no chance to Playvolley to get back into the game and the Paolites won the second set 25-14.
Hibs were now playing at their best with impressive spikes by Gertrude Zarb ably delivered by setter Tiziana Bonnici to which Playvolley could find no reply.
Playvolley tried to make a comeback with Alan Gauci substituting Diandra Caruana with Celaine Muscat but this change did not have the desired effect with Hibs closing the set and the match at 25-18. Both teams met again on Sunday for the decisive third match.
Sunday’s match started off in the same fashion as the match the previous day. The first set was balanced with Hibs winning 25-23. However the remaining two sets were all in Hibs favour with Delicia Farrugia and Elaine Caruana troubling Alan Gauci’s team. Hibs won the match 3-0 and their fourth consecutive league title.
In the men’s league play-off final, it was Kerygma that won a close first encounter against Aloysians Lipton with Robert Balzan and David Galea playing at their best. Kerygma started off well with Alosyians making a large number of unforced errors.
Soon, Kerygma were leading 2-0: however this shook Lipton and with good combinations by Ron Stivala and David Caruana together with excellent defending by libero Mauro Bonnici managed to bring the team back into the game by winning the next two sets. At 2-2 the match was forced to a tie break.
It was Kerygma that started off well and the teams changed sides at 8-4. Kerygma continued to dominate and won the set and the match. Kerygma are now favourites to win the men’s league.
Last weekend also saw the first match of the Fr. Tony Parnis Cup between Playvolley Red and Kerygma. It was Playvolley who eased through by registering a convincing win 3-0. These now face Flyers tomorrow for a place in the final.