Valletta Mapei came from behind to beat Mġarr 3-1 in their last match to make sure of the national league title with two matches to spare.

Valletta took more time than expected to settle down as they sorely felt the absence of a few key players.

Mġarr had Clayton Portelli and Cedric Bondin being constantly fed attacking balls by setter Franco Debono and with Valletta finding it difficult to stop them, they took the first set 25-21.

Predrag Schindler also had a good match, constantly putting pressure on the Valletta defence with his serves.

However, Valletta’s main attackers Robert Balzan and Reuben Vella soon started to combine perfectly with Jonathan Chetcuti’s blocks from the middle and eventually turned the match around for a 3-1 win.

In the other match from the men’s league, Aloysians chalked up their first win of the season when beating Fleur de Lys 3-1.

Due to various reasons, the Blues also had a number of regulars missing and  Aloysians profited from the situation, winning the first two sets 25-16 and 25-19.

Fleur de Lys made a comeback in the third set. However, it was soon over as Aloysians, with Gianmarco Rabuazzo and Edmond Vassallo in outstanding form, soon took the fourth set 25-10.

In the women’s First Division, Swieqi Phoenix beat Birkirkara 3-0 to go just one point behind leaders Sliema Wanderers in the standings.

With a direct Swieqi-Sliema encounter yet to be played, everything is still possible and the title could go either way.

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