Eight remain in NVF Cup promotion race
Forty-seven matches over two days at C’est si Bon Courts in Otjiwarongo whittled the Bank Windhoek Namibia Volleyball Federation (NVF) Cup field from 25 teams down to eight as the race for promotion to the country’s top flight moves to Swakopmund.
Four teams remain in each of the men’s and women’s sections ahead of the semi-finals at the MTC Dome on 3 October, where reaching the final will also secure promotion to next season’s MTC Volleyball National League (VNL).
The Otjiwarongo leg produced several standout runs, none more dominant than Namibian Correctional Service (NCS), who emerged from the women’s Group B with a perfect five wins from five without surrendering a single set.
NCS won all 15 sets they contested, scoring 375 points while conceding only 178 on their way to a maximum 15 log points.
Their straight-sets run accounted for Eleven Warriors, Green Side, Rural Revive, Coastal Warriors and Vixens, with the latter two finishing second and third in the group, respectively.
Rural Revive make their bow
At the other end of the Group B standings, Rural Revive endured a baptism of fire in their first appearance at the national qualifier.
The Maltahöhe outfit arrived as the youngest side at the competition. Despite finishing without a victory and not taking a set from their five opponents, their numbers did not tell the entire story.
They had several moments of resistance while getting their first taste of the level required at the national qualifier.
One of their strongest came against Eleven Warriors, when they pushed the second set beyond the conventional 25-point mark before eventually going down 28-26. Eleven Warriors ultimately won the encounter 3-0 (25-13, 28-26, 25-14).
Revive captain Simorein Anton said the team largely comprises school learners and volleyball beginners from her village.
“It’s an honour to be here. We really enjoyed playing here. It was tough, but we learned a lot of lessons. It’s an experience for us to take back home and use to practise harder. We will improve the next time we return,” she said.
Fine margins in Group A
The women’s Group A could hardly have been tighter, with DTS Invictors, Shining Stars and NamPol Otjozondjupa all completing their four matches on nine points.
DTS kept themselves in the hunt by routing Keetmanshoop 3-0 before going down 3-1 to Shining Stars in their final group match.
That left all three leading teams with three victories and one defeat, forcing the standings beyond match points.
DTS took top spot after winning 10 sets and losing four, giving them a set ratio of 2.50.
Shining Stars and NamPol were still inseparable at the next stage, with both winning nine sets and losing four for identical set ratios of 2.25.
The race therefore went to the points ratio, where Shining Stars’ 307 points won against 258 conceded produced a ratio of 1.190, narrowly better than NamPol’s 318 against 271 for 1.173, allowing Stars to claim the second semi-final place.
At the MTC Dome, DTS will meet Group B runners-up Coastal Warriors in the first women’s semi-final, while Shining Stars will attempt to end NCS’ perfect run in the other.
Gunners leave unbeaten
The men’s field also produced its own unbeaten outfit, with NDF Mighty Gunners becoming the only side to leave Otjiwarongo without a defeat.
Gunners topped the three-team Group A after routing Hippo 3-0 before being taken the distance by Unam Kings in a five-set battle. They eventually edged Kings 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 25-20, 17-25, 15-13) to finish the group stage with five points.
Their quarter-final proved far more straightforward, with Gunners putting Modern away 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-19) to extend their unbeaten run to three matches and book their trip to the coast.
Quiver fairytale rolls on
Quiver’s route to the last four followed a very different path. After missing out on the NVF Cup in each of the past two seasons, their return to the competition began with a 3-2 defeat to Erongo NamPol.
That loss still proved valuable, however, as taking the match to five sets earned Quiver one point while Erongo collected two.
NamPol Otjozondjupa then turned the group on its head by recovering from two sets down to beat Erongo NamPol 3-2, leaving all three sides with one victory and one defeat heading into the final reckoning.
Quiver responded by routing NamPol Otjozondjupa 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-15). The straight-sets victory earned them three points and took their total to four, enough to top Group B ahead of Erongo NamPol on three and NamPol Otjozondjupa on two.
Their fairytale continued in the quarter-finals, where they put Real Cheetah away 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-15) to punch their ticket to Swakopmund.
Group winners tumble
The knockout stage also claimed two other group winners. Group D winners QKR Warriors, who had gone through their pool unbeaten, were routed 3-0 by Unam Kings, while Group C leaders Afrocat D went down 3-1 to Erongo NamPol.
Kings beat QKR 25-20, 25-22, 25-18, while Erongo recovered from dropping the opening set against Afrocat to win 3-1 (13-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-20).
Those results set up a Mighty Gunners-Erongo NamPol semi-final, with Unam Kings facing Quiver in the other last-four clash.
The remaining eight teams across the two divisions will next head to Swakopmund, competing for the NVF Cup crowns, promotion to the MTC VNL and a share of the N$100 000 prize purse sponsored by Bank Windhoek.
