Muharraq secure top seed for volleyball semis

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Defending champions Muharraq secured the all-important number one seed last night heading into the semi-finals of the 2020/2021 Isa bin Rashid Bahrain First Division Volleyball League, following a stunning straight-sets victory over Al Ahli in a top-of-the-table clash.

The match ended the league’s round-robin stage, and it earned Muharraq a crucial twice-to-beat advantage in the final four.

There, they will face fourth-seeded Al Najma, who face the uphill task of needing two victories in order to advance to the final.

The other semis matchup will be between Ahli and Dar Kulaib, who ended the round-robin as second and third seeds, respectively.

Dar Kulaib were also winners yesterday, beating lowly Busaiteen in three sets. In Muharraq’s win, after overcoming a heated challenge from their rivals in the first set by just two points, the victors powered on in the next two to seal the result with a 3-0 (30-28, 25-19, 25-21) scoreline.

It gave Muharraq a 13-1 win-loss record to head into the next stage, while Ahli went to 12-2 not far behind. For Dar Kulaib, they sent out a stern warning to their semi-final opponents by easily taking care of Busaiteen 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-19).

Dar Kulaibend the round-robin with an 11-3 record while Busaiteen finished winless after 14 matches.

Ahli’s semis clash with Dar Kulaib will be a best-of-three affair. Both final four series are still to be scheduled by the Bahrain Volleyball Association.