NamPower, Blaze dominate Bank Windhoek NVF Cup

Volleyball
Mariud Ngula
  • 4 Hours Ago
Central Volleyball Association’s (CVA) NamPower and Kavango Volleyball Association’s (KVA) Blaze Aces were crowned champions of the Bank Windhoek Namibia Volleyball Federation (NVF) Cup at Ramatex Hall in Windhoek on Sunday.

Held by CVA, the tournament is a major highlight in the NVF calendar as it serves as a qualifier for the prestigious MTC Volleyball National League (VNL).

Here, the top two teams from NVF’s eight association leagues across the men’s and women’s sections battle it out to determine which two teams from each section gain promotion to the VNL.

This year marked the 17th year Bank Windhoek has sponsored the event and saw a turnout of 10 women’s teams and 14 men’s teams battling it out for top honours. The women’s section had two groups, with the men’s section featuring four groups.



NamPower’s title race

Drawn in the men’s Group A, the eventual champions NamPower started slow with a 2-0 loss to Medipark but picked up a 2-0 win over Brutal Pact in their next encounter.

After the round-robin clashes, the group ended tied on three points, with all three teams having picked up a 2-0 win and a 2-0 loss.

However, NamPower topped the standings with a 1.23 score ratio, with Brutal Pact in second on 0.94 and Medipark rounding out the log on 0.87.

NamPower then advanced to face Real Cheetah in the quarter-final, where they came out on top with a 2-0 win to advance to the semi-finals.

The semi-final was another comfortable encounter for NamPower, who stormed to a straight-set 3-0 win over Namibian Navy to book their ticket to the final.

Here, NamPower went up against Brutal Pact, whom they took two sets off before conceding a third. In a dramatic final set, NamPower emerged victorious to clinch the match 3-1 and with it the overall title. The third-placed team was Namibian Navy.



‘This was our year’

Reflecting on the victory, NamPower captain David Katoma acknowledged his opponents for putting up a fight to take a set.

“It was a very good match, but intense. I am proud of the boys for fighting it out and coming out on top. We failed to qualify for the VNL last year, but this year was our year [and this title gives us a clear ticket to the country’s top-tier volleyball league],” he said.



Blaze Aces’ title race

Meanwhile, Blaze Aces stormed through the group stages (Group A), which featured cross-pool fixtures against teams from Group B. They dominated unbeaten over Sharks (2-1), Deutscher Turn und Sportverein (DTS) (2-0), Vixens (2-1) and Keetmanshoop (2-0) to advance straight to the semi-finals, where they beat Seagulls 3-0 to advance to the final.

The final was a tense encounter against Afrocat Ladies, but Blaze Aces drew first blood by taking the first two sets before conceding a third. They, however, found their footing to come back from a set down and take the match 3-1 and with it the overall title. The third-placed team was DTS.



‘A very happy captain’

Reflecting on the victory, Blaze Aces captain Sokhana Kanyumara was all smiles and assured that she never doubted her team one bit.

“I have confidence in the girls. We came all the way from Rundu with an aim of winning and finally getting to advance to the VNL, which we missed out on last season. We achieved both, so I am a very happy captain. This has been a long time coming,” she said.

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