Defending champs Ahli draw first blood in Isa bin Rashid volleyball finals

TDT | Manama   

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Defending champions Al Ahli powered to a dominant victory over Al Nasser last night in three sets to draw first blood in their best-of-three championship series in the 2021/2022 Isa bin Rashid Bahrain First Division Volleyball League.

The match was played at a jam-packed Isa bin Rashid Volleyball Arena at Isa Sports City in Riffa. Ahli took the opener with a flawless display for a 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-18) result against their title rivals.

They are now just one victory away from securing this season’s crown, which will be their second successive triumph and fourth overall in the history of the league. Nasser are hoping to bounce back and extend their clash.

They are gunning for their 13th title. Their last triumph came in the 2012/2013 season, when they defeated Ahli in the finals series. Game two is scheduled to take place on Thursday at the same venue, and then game three, if needed, will be on Saturday.

Ahli relied heavily on their star core of Brazilian professional Luis Fernando Venceslau and Bahrainis Mohammed Anan, Nasser Anan, Ali Al Sairifi, Ali Habib, Mahmood Abdulhussain, Abbas Al Khabbaz and libero Hussain Sultan.

They sealed their win with a double block on the game’s final play. For Nasser, they had key contributions from their star players such as Bulgarian import Venelin Kadankov, along with local talents Hussain Al Jishi, Mohammed Omar, Ali Sultan, Jassim Turki and libero Yousef Abdulghaffar.

Ahli made it to the championship round after defeating Dar Kulaib in the league’s semi-finals, while Nasser punched their tickets with a win over Al Najma in the same stage. Ahli are hoping to make a repeat of their success last season, when they swept the finals series in two games against Muharraq.

Ahli are also hoping to secure their second trophy of the season, having already won the Bahrain Volleyball Association Cup last month. They claimed that title in the one-off tournament final, played over five sets against Dar Kulaib.