Top volleyball players duke it out in Tongaat

Tongaat came alive last weekend as the country’s top volleyball players came together to duke it out, with Tongaat’s defending champs retaining the title.

In the end Tongaat’s Liberte men won some local pride, while the KAD Beasts ladies joined them in successfully defending their titles at the 2018 Garuda Capital eThekwini Volleyball National Masters Tournament in scintillating fashion.

The fourth edition of the tourney was once again hosted in partnership with UKZN Sport as well as UKZN Volleyball and took place at the university’s Westville Sports Centre.

Both sides went undefeated throughout the competition which attracted teams from around the country.

In the men’s final, Liberte faced a strong Delfos team in front of a boisterous crowd. It was a ding dong battle in the opening set with both teams trading points before Liberte closed off with a 25-17 win.

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The Tongaat side were lethal through the middle with playmaker Kiresh Harrilal laying the platform for his captain Seelan Naidoo to run riot.

Liberte raced to a quick 12-6 lead in the second set before the intervention of Delfos coach Log’s Naicker who brought on veteran setter, Matthew Govender. It was a move that galvanized them with Govender bringing former national captain Andile Masinga into the game.

He delivered some big blows before Liberte tightened their defence at the net. Harilal then turned to Masinga’s former team mate in the South African setup, Prenalen Govender along with outside hitter, Pramesh Naidoo whose big attacks helped them to a 25-20 win.

“I think the support we had was magnificent, the crowd really helped us throughout the game, it was really a hair raising experience,” said Naidoo, who won the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament award.

“For me it’s all about the team, we play as a family and we stay as a family, for me this is a team award not an individual award.”

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