Valletta VC captured the first honour of the season after they had the better of a combative Defenders Aloysians side in the two-legged final of the National Cup.
Victory kept Valletta on course for the double this season.
In the first match, Valletta, who last week had a four-day training camp in Italy, prevailed 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 30-28) but as the set scores clearly indicate, this was no easy ride for the winners.
Keith Mercieca did well for Defenders as his settings invited Louis Sciriha, Gordon Cachia and Malcolm St John to attack regularly. Aloysians did manage to open a slim lead at 22-19 and 23-22 but three vital points from Valletta made sure the first set went their way.
Valletta maintained their momentum in the second set. They opened a 9-0 lead thanks mainly to Anatoly Gatt's services and although Defenders tried to narrow the deficit, it was an impossible task for them.
Aloysians looked more aggressive in the third set. With Owen Spiteri putting Valletta's strengths to good use, especially Dalton Caruana and Cedric Bondin from the outside, and Paul Tonna, in the opposite position, Defenders had to rely on a very solid defence, led by libero Mark Apel, to stay in the game.
But when Defenders lost Sciriha to injury at 23-24 all seemed lost for them even though Aloysians battled out a few other points until they lost 30-28.
The second match, which finished 3-1 (25-14, 25-10, 24-26, 25-18), saw Robert Balzan back in action for Valletta with Caruana moving to a more familiar central position.
Valletta only took 40 minutes to secure the first two sets against a disjointed Defenders side, missing the services of Sciriha and St John. Alex Spiteri also pulled up early in the game.
Valletta rested some of their regulars in the third set and Aloysians seized the chance to pull a set back. With the score 23-21 for Valletta, a rotation error saw Defenders gain the points needed to take this third set.
However, normal service was resumed in the fourth as Valletta never lost focus to win their first title for this season.
At the end of the match, Branko Vlahovic, Malta Volleyball Association president, presented the trophy to Valletta captain Jonathan Chetcuti.
Women's Div. Two
TGIF and Phoenix showed good progress on their last outings as this match developed into a tight affair, aptly concluding the regular season on a high prior to the play-offs later this month.
Phoenix won the match 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-17, 25-20) to start the next phase of the championship with a two-point lead over the same TGIF.
Standings (regular season): Flyers 28; Birkirkara VC 26; Paola U-18 24; Phoenix 18; TGIF 14; Mellieħa 10.