In the men’s league, the most awaited match of the weekend was between first placed Marsascala Mapei and second placed Fleur de Lys FEB.

Mapei were without experienced players such as David Caruana, Ron Stivala and Franco Debono. Mapei coach Mark Hili opted to play the national team libero, Vince Pace in an attacking role due to these absences.

The match was extremely balanced with both teams performing well. Mapei setter Owen Spiteri distributed the excellent balls to his team mates who on most occasions managed to win points.

At 2-2, the game went into the tie-break. Fleur de Lys FEB ended the game on a high with strong attacks by Jonathan Chetcuti and Paul Tonna and managed to win the final set and the game 3-2.

Both teams stand a good chance of winning this year’s championship.

In the ladies league, Paola Hibs Candy met third placed Playvolley Blue on Saturday.

Both teams started with a good pace with no team playing better than the other. Scores were level until the second time out during the first and second set until Hibs made the extra effort and closed both sets in their favour.

Playvolley seemed discouraged during the third and final set and were unable to show the tenacity they displayed during the first two sets.

Hibs are top of the ladies league with 12 wins out of 12 games. They are strong favourites to win the championship playoffs that start in a couple of weeks.