A number of matches from both the ladies and men’s senior leagues were played this weekend at the Cottonera Sports Complex with all top teams winning their respective matches.
Aloysians Lipton beat Marsascala although the latter gave them a hard time while champions Paola Hibs Candy managed to overcome the challenge posed by Kerygma.
X-Sel, runners up last year, stumbled against Playvolley Blues, losing 3-0.
In the under 15 girl’s category, Paola Whites, Kerygma, and X-Sel continued their winning streak while in the boys category, Aloysians had no problems winning against the MVA volleyball school team.
In the ladies category, Flyers easily beat Playvolley Red 3-0. In the first set, Playvolley could not keep up with spikes from Flyers and they easily won the set 25-9. Flyers slowed the rhythm down and this allowed Playvolley back into the game but Flyers were still far too strong and won the second set 25-18. The third set was just a formality and ended 25-12 with Flyers taking home the three points.
This weekend, champions Paola Hibs Candy took on Kerygma and as expected, Hibs had no problems in brushing the challenge aside.
With all of Hibs players in good form, the team had no problems adapting to new rotations during the various sets. Denise Aquilina played an excellent game and Gertrude Zarb was utilised in the setter position, giving a valid contribution to the game.
Kerygma were strongest in their attacks through Melissa Borg and Maria Ellul as these two players troubled the Hibs defence. Hibs won the match with a score of 3-0 thus taking them to a shared first position with Playvolley Blue.
A direct encounter between the two top teams will be played next weekend at the Cottonera Sports Complex, a match that promises to be at the highest level of Maltese volleyball.
This weekend also saw X-Sel, last year’s runner up, play against Playvolley Blue. Alan Gauci’s team played with the usual tenacity and lead through most of the game with Daniela Bonnici in excellent form.
It was good to see Sandra Bonnici back in form for Playvolley after missing most of last season’s matches. X-Sel tried to respond with attacks by Belinda Milton and Charlene Attard but the team seemed unable to offer any opposition and this gave Playvolley a well deserved victory with the final score ending 3-0 in their favour.
In the men’s category, Aloysians Lipton started the game with a five-point lead on
Marsascala. After a timeout requested by Marsascala’s coach they managed to equalise and even went ahead to at the first technical timeout. However, a more experienced Aloysians Lipton side managed to take a close first set 25-23.
The second set showed a more determined Marsascala side and with a number of good attacks by Aristar Borg lead for most of this set. They eventually managed to win 25-21. The third set was a bit disappointing for Marsascala as the team did not manage to get going and committed many mistakes. On the other hand Karl Soler, the Aloysians setter, distributed some great sets to David Caruana and Ron Stivala who, in turn, executed some perfect attacks with no chance for Marsascala to respond. Aloysians won the third set 25-15.
The fourth set was a balanced one and Marsascala did their utmost to get back into the game. However, Aloysians’ experience proved to be too important and these committed fewer errors than their opponents. Alosyians won the final set 25-18 and the match 3-1.
This victory consolidates Lipton’s position at the top of the men’s league.
In the second men’s senior match, Fleur de Lys CFK had no problems in brushing off the challenge presented by the less experienced Aloysians Red in three straight sets.