Volleyball Series a Close Affair

Staff Reporter

16 June 2011

Windhoek — The 3rd leg of the popular 7-legged DTS Maerua Superspar Volleyball Series attracted 33 teams competing in perfect weather conditions in Windhoek last weekend.

All together seven teams entered the fray in the 2-a-side ladies section, which was played in a double elimination format to determine the best team.

The first seeded pair of Julia Laggner and Lizette Roettcher easily cruised to the semifinals where they confronted 2nd leg winners Brigitte Looser and Karin Curschmann.

This time the combination of Laggner and Roettcher proved too strong for their opponents and won 2-0 to set up a date with the pairing of Anita Kinder and Simone von Wietersheim.

The latter accounted for the Katja Biesemann/Wiebke Hoeritzauer combination in the other semifinal.

Laggner and Roettcher emerged victorious in fine style 2-0 – leaving Looser and Curschmann with the consolation 3rd prize.

In the men’s section, the first seeded team of Mwita Sikopo and Rector Mbeha were in brilliant form as the pair marched through to the final without losing a single set.

The duo proved to be the team to beat and could not have asked for better opponents in the final where they were pitted against the 2nd seeded combination of Heiko Diehl and Peter Brinkmann.

Diehl and Brinkmann were the conquerors of veteran volleyball player Deon Cloete and Michael de Koe in the semifinal.

However, they met their match in Sikopo and Mbeha who comfortably won the final 2-0 sets for their first title as a team this year.

Cloete and De Koe had to be satisfied with 3rd place.

The youth competition attracted five teams and was played on a round robin format, which culminated in 10 games in total.

Most of the encounters had to be decided in 3-set tiebreak matches.

Erik Fischer and Bernard Schurz won all their four matches without losing a single set on the way to their first win of the year.

Tin Hlupic and Brendon de Jager teamed up and finished 2nd while the combination of Rico Behrens and Wilko Stieler was placed 3rd.

The 4-a-side social category saw an amazing total of 14 teams battling it out for top honours. The top eight teams qualified for the quarterfinals led by Cats & Dogs, Farmers Attack, Ladies Paradise, Namibia Airports Company A & B (NAC), Trustco Legal Shield, 4zafunofit and Intouch 4.

Reigning championsCats and Dogs carved themselves a place in the final against

Ladies Paradise and scored a narrow victory 2-1.

The other semifinal was a real thriller between NAC A and Intouch 4 that saw the latter winning the first set.

NAC A came back strongly to level matters and stepped up a gear in the decisive 3rd set to qualify for the final.

The final was once again a very closely contested affair with Cats & Dogs winning 2-1 s for their 2nd title of the year. 3rd place went to Ladies Paradise.

The full results are as follows:

Ladies:

1. Julia Laggner/Lizette Roettcher

2. Anita Kinder/Simone von Wietersheim

3. Brigitte Looser/Karin Curschmann

Men:

1. Mwita Sikopo/Rector Mbeha

2. Heiko Diehl/Peter Brinkmann

3. Deon Cloete/Michael de Koe

Youth:

1. Erik Fischer/Bernard Schurz

2. Tin Hlupic/Brendon de Jager

3. Rico Behrens/Wilko Stieler

4-a-side:

1. Cats & Dogs

2. NAC A

3. Ladies Paradise

2-a-side players Rector Mbeha and Martha Henghono from NAC A were voted FX FITNESS Most Athletic players of the tournament. The next DTS-Maerua Superspar tournament will be held on July 16 in Swakopmund.

AllAfrica – All the Time