Balzan Flyers Crosscraft achieved their dream recently as they succeeded in winning their first ever women’s league championship following a straightforward 3-0 win over Fleur de Lys Twistees.
David Caruana’s girls extended their string of successes this season.
After lifting the John Bugeja Tribute Cup and the Super Cup at the beginning of the volleyball campaign, they did well to stay unbeaten in league to reach their objective.
Balzan were too strong for Fleur de Lys in their last match, beating them in straight sets (25-21, 25-20, 25-20) in one hour 16 minutes.
This was the Flyers’ 20th win in all competitions this season.
In the other match from the Super League, Mellieħa Tritones eased past Flyers’ second team 3-0. The two teams are now level on points in the lower end of the standings.
In the First Division, Sliema Wanderers kept their hopes of winning the tournament alive after beating Swieqi Phoenix 3-1 in a very entertaining match.
Both teams produced some good volleyball with Phoenix claiming the first set 25-20 before succumbing in the second 24-26.
Sliema made sure of victory in the next two sets where they profited from some hesitant play from their opponents (25-17 and 25-18).
The Wanderers are now only three points behind Playvolley General Membrane, and the result of their direct clash this weekend will determine the title issue.
In another match from the First Division, Mġarr defeated Birkir-kara 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 27-25) to jump into third place.
Meanwhile, Swieqi Phoenix were crowned girls’ U-16 and U-18 champions as the two competitions came to a close recently.
In the last match from the U-16 league, Swieqi suffered their only defeat this season, going down 3-0 to Fleur de Lys Twistees, the runners-up in the championship.
The Phoenix girls, however, remained unbeaten in the U-18 league with the side from Balzan Flyers Crosscraft made to settle for second place.
Men’s final
In the men’s league play-offs, Valletta Mapei have taken the first step towards recapturing the title they won last in 2012 by beating Aloysians 3-0 in the series opener.
Valletta had Robert Balzan in fine form, and with his team-mates serving repeatedly well, Aloysians found it hard to chalk up points, managing just 47 in three sets.
Aloysians would need to find the same kind of rhythm as in their semi-final against Fleur de Lys to be able to put Valletta under pressure for the rest of the series.
After losing the battle against Aloysians in the semi-finals, Fleur de Lys Twistees eased their disappointment by beating Mġarr 3-0 in the third place play-off.
Fleur de Lys were the better team throughout the game, giving their opponents no chance to settle and winning the sets 25-14, 25-14 and 25-16 in the process.