Volleyball: women’s and men’s SVF Cup competitions-Women’s quarterfinalists known |08 November 2011
Thirteen teams from divisions one and two contested for a place in the last-eight of the annual knockout tournament.
In the first preliminary match, Arsu took 57 minutes to eliminate second division winners Island Girls 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-13). In the quarterfinal, Arsu will play against Friends who won a bye.
Five sets were needed to decide the winner of the second match which featured Juniors and OSC Comets. After losing the first set 19-25, Juniors fought back to win the second and third 25-17 and 25-23 respectively. But OSC Comets won the fourth set 25-19 to force a decisive fifth set. Juniors came out stronger to win it 15-8 and the match 3-2 to set up a rendez-vous with Praslin Volleyball Club who won a bye straight into the quarterfinal.
Mont Fleuri were the third team to qualify for the semifinal with a 3-0 win over Roots Sisters. The set scores were 25-13, 25-12 and 25-20. Their quarterfinal opponents are Santa West who beat La Digue 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-15, 25-14) in 1 hour 33 minutes.
St Louis Bombers were the last team to secure a place in the quarterfinal with a straight sets victory over Aros with set scores of 25-17, 25-19 and 25-18. In the quarterfinal, St Louis Bombers will meet Cascade who won a bye.
Meanwhile, in the men’s matches played during the weekend, Racing Club twice came from behind to eliminate Neo Boyz to become the first team to book a semifinal spot, while La Digue and Anse Royale made it to the quarterfinal with victories over Juniors and Outsiders respectively.
Racing Club lost the first set 19-25, before fighting back to win the second 25-17. They were again behind after the third set which they lost 23-25. Racing Club came out stronger in the last two sets which they won 25-19 and 15-10 to claim a 3-2 victory.
La Digue, for their part, were victorious over Juniors on a 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-23) score, while Anse Royale won 3-2 against Outsiders. The set scores were 25-22, 20-25, 25-17, 18-25 and 15-10. Anse Royale’s quarterfinal opponents are division one league champions Premium Spikers and the winners will play against La Digue in the semifinal.
R. D.