Volleyball National League kicks off

The second season of the MTC Volleyball National League kicked off this weekend at the Windhoek Showgrounds with a total of 19 matches played across both the men and women’s divisions.

In the men’s division, defending champions Namibia Correctional Service (NCS) made a strong start, defeating Keetmanshoop Correctional Facility VC 3-1 before sweeping Unam Hard Hitters 3-0.

Fellow title contenders Nampol Volleyball also started strongly, winning both of their fixtures, including a convincing 3-0 victory over newly-promoted Mighty Gunners.

Meanwhile, in the women’s division, defending champions Revivals Volleyball Club demonstrated their intent to retain the title with a hard-fought 3-0 win over Kudos SC, followed by a thrilling 3-2 victory over Ball Busters VC.

Other standout performances included newly promoted Unam Queens dismantling Ball Busters, while Nampol Women secured a 3-1 victory over Six Stars.

The men’s division action continued yesterday with a thrilling encounter between Keetmanshoop and Calvary Eagles, which went to a tiebreaker, before Keetmanshoop won 3-2. 

Afrocat became the latest team to fall victim to NCS’s unbeaten run, losing 3-1 to the defending champions.

In the women’s division, Nampol Otjozondjupa beat Six Stars 3-1, while NDF Phoenix defeated Nampol 3-2. Unam Queens also secured a 3-1 victory over Kudos.

Both defending champions in the men and women’s divisions got off to a winning start, with NCS maintaining their unbeaten status.

With new teams joining the league, NCS head coach Likando Anthony acknowledged that teams have strengthened their squads with new signings and different playing styles. However, he emphasized that NCS is also evolving and refining its game strategies to retain the title.

“If they really want to challenge us, they’ve got to bring better games,” said Anthony. “Obviously, we’re going back to the drawing board to re-strategize. We’ve got statisticians analyzing our performance, so we need to see where we went wrong and what needs fixing.”

RVC head coach Mutasa Kuda expressed mixed feelings about his team’s performance, particularly their tough opening match against last season’s runners-up Kudos.

“It was not easy, especially the first game. Kudos were last year’s runners-up, and the match was intense. In the second game, the girls were fatigued, and that’s why we even dropped a point against Ball Busters. Normally, we are not supposed to drop points in such games,” Kuda explained.

He further stated that RVC had tried to rotate players to give everyone a chance, but the move didn’t go according to plan, as BBVC capitalized on the changes. Despite that, he remained satisfied with securing five points out of a possible six and vowed that his team would improve.

“We just have to work harder because we are trying to retain our championship. We also need to focus on fitness because the girls were lagging a bit. But whatever we saw this weekend, we are going back to the drawing board, and when we return in the next round, we will come back stronger,” he added.