Al Ahli defeat Nabih Saleh in five-setter

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Al Ahli staved off a heated challenge from Nabih Saleh for a hard-earned, fiveset victory last night in the Top Six round of the 2023/2024 Isa bin Rashid Bahrain Volleyball League.

Ahli started off strong and took the two-set advantage, but Nabih Saleh rallied and forced the tie-break.

Ahli were eventually able to pull off the win with a 3-2 (25-15, 25-21, 21-25, 20-25, 15-11) score line.

A Hani Ali attack closed out the first set for Ahli, and then Nasser Anan followed suit to secure their 2-0 lead.

But Nabih Saleh did well to recover, with Nigerian professional Oyewale Oyedepo providing the winning point in set three.

They rode their momentum into the fourth set as Sayed Hashem Isa delivered a service winner to send the contest into a thrilling decider.

There, Ahli regained their edge and finally sealed the win with an Anan block. Also coming up big for Ahli in the game were Ali Ebrahim, Sayed Mohammed Al Abrar, Mahmoud Abdulhussain, Mohammed Habib, and Hassan Shakhouri For Nabih Saleh, they also had key contributions from Mohammed Jassim and Hussain Ashoor, among others. Ahli claimed their sixth win in seven matches and stayed on par with defending champions Dar Kulaib atop the Top Six standings.

They are virtually assured of a berth in the Golden Square semi-finals. Nabih Saleh, on the other hand, suffered their fourth loss but are still in contention for the Golden Square.

Meanwhile, Al Najma revived their hopes of reaching the Golden Square following a hard-fought 3-1 (31-19, 21-25, 27-25, 25-22) victory against Muharraq in another Top Six clash.

Najma claimed only their second win in seven matches and are currently still out of a semi-final berth, but are closing in on the leading four as Muharraq suffered their fourth loss in their seven games.

The Top Six is being played in a double round-robin to determine the cast for the Golden Square semi-finals.

Action continues on Wednesday and Thursday later this week. On Wednesday, Dar Kulaib go up against Muharraq in the early game, after which Ahli square off with Al Nasser.

On Thursday, Nabih Saleh return to the playing court when they face Najma.

The Top Six continues until the end of the month, after which the Golden Square semi-finals will be held.