Swimblue Pals march on to first division title |27 July 2017

Swimblue Pals have finally completed their run of dominance in local volleyball after they clinched their first ever division one league title in only their first season in the top flight. Perhaps, the most surprising statistic of all is that the team have still not tasted a single defeat since their creation in 2016.

Boasting top players like Ian Furneau, Guilly Bijoux and Jones Mangroo, Swimblue Pals have bossed the division and sealed the title last weekend against their closest rivals Premium Spikers.

The match was one that Spikers needed to win to stop their opponents from clinching the title, but they fell behind after the first set on a 25-22 score and from there, there was no way back for them.

Swimblue Pals continued to prove their dominance in the second set which they won 25-21 and while you would have thought Spikers would come out stronger for the third set to avoid defeat, it was the new champions who played better to win 25-11 to claim victory on a 3-0 score and with it the title.

There were two more men’s division one games played last weekend, where Beau Vallon defeated Arsu Boys 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-23), while Neo Boys grabbed a 3-0 (28-26, 25-22, 25-20) victory over La Digue Amigos.

In the women’s division one league, defending champions Arsu are still on their way towards retaining their title with a come-from-behind 3-1 (24-26, 25-13, 25-21, 25-18) win over La Digue Island Star.

Praslin Girls, meanwhile, continued their good form as they won 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-11) against Friends.

Ton Neo moved closer to promotion to the top flight with victory over Outsiders. The score was 3-2 (25-23, 16-25, 25-23, 27-29, 15-7). In the other men’s division two game played during the weekend, GAP Boys defeated St Louis 3-1 (25-12, 25-16, 15-25, 25-11).

In the women’s division two, there were three matches scheduled, where AAP Sisters defeated Juniors 3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 12-25, 20-25, 15-13) and St Francis came from behind to claim a 3-1 (16-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19) win over Bel Ombre.

Breakaway, on their part, are looking to seal promotion and moved closer to their goal with a 3-1 (18-25, 26-24, 25-16, 25-20) victory over Port Glaud.

S. N.