NDF rule the roost

Namibia Defence Force (NDF) firmly asserted themselves at the top of the Central Volleyball Women’s League after emphatically beating both the University of Namibia (Unam) and Sporting Klub Windhoek (SKW) 3-0 at Police College on Saturday to move four points clear of their nearest rivals Revivals (RVC).

Much was expected of the NDF-Unam clash as in the previous week Unam had accounted for last year’s winners SKW, 3-0. The Educats however did not amount to much as they were totally blown away by the excessive pounding of the NDF attack and succumbed to a low scoring 3 -0 defeat.

Much interest was also vested in the NDF-SKW encounter as last week SKW thrashed other league hopefuls Khomas Nampol (KNVC) 3-0. So the stage was set for this mammoth encounter.

SKW were taking no chances and threw caution to the wind and laid into NDF from the start. The shock treatment worked as NDF found themselves on the receiving end and trailing badly at 15-10. They called a time out, and this definitely changed their fortunes as they drew level at 18-18. With the pressure mounting, SKW’s basics fell apart as NDF stormed back to win the set 25-20.

The second set was more balanced and at 8-8, it was anybody’s game. But SKW struggled with their basics and NDF exploited these cracks to take a comfortable 17-13 lead. SKW offered some resistance when they reduced the deficit to 20-18 but it was just not enough as they tumbled to a 25-19 defeat.

The third set was a near disaster for SKW as they suddenly found themselves 1-7 behind. They too had to gather their forces after a timeout and managed to fight back to reduce the gap to 9-11, but NDF soon bounced back.

Their unanswered incessant attacks down the middle and their unblockable hits from the outside saw them sailing to a 14-10 lead. SKW however pulled back to 16-15 and when NDF’s outside hitter fell badly and had to withdraw due to injury, the momentum swung back to SKW.

NDF however called a time out which produced dividends as they forged into a 21-16 lead but once again SKW came back to narrow the gap to 21-23. NDF however held their nerve to win the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.

In the Men’s League, the much-anticipated and highly charged encounter between 21 Brigade and Unam had all the trimmings of a championship match as 21 Brigade stormed to a 3-1 victory under controversial circumstances. The first set had much trading as both teams sized each other up and at 12-12 and 22-22, it was anyone’s game. But three foolish mistakes by Unam saw them lose the first set 22-25.

The second set was even harder to call as 21 Brigade sped into a 18-15 lead but a good time out saw Unam recuperating to draw level at 22-22. At 24-24, Unam seemed to sure to win the set, but a lapse in concentration saw 21 Brigade storming back to win the set 26-24.

Unam however recuperated and comfortably won the third set 25-9 to set the stage for a strong comeback.

Brigade however stormed back to take a 13-8 lead, but the match ended in disarray and controversy after an altercation between a Unam player and the first referee.

According to the rules, only the captain may address the referee so the player was given a red card and dismissed. Unam, having no substitutes was declared incomplete and lost the set 25-8 according to the referee.

Unam however claim that a red card is only a penalty meaning that they should just lose a point as an expulsion is signified by a red and yellow card jointly, but the referee insisted that a red card is an expulsion. Unam however did not agree and said that they would appeal the ruling.