The Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation, in collaboration with Munchee, commenced the Munchee National Volleyball Novices Championship 2016 finals on the 26th of November, at the Maharagama National Youth Services Council Indoor Stadium.
Sarath Gems defeated New Star 3-2 in the Men’s Final while the women’s final saw Boyagama Siriparakum dominate as they defeated Air Force 3-0.
Women’s Final
It was the women’s final that took place first thing in the morning, and this was met with delight among the teams as they were eager to clinch the title of National Volleyball Champions.
The first set of the match proved the intensity as Siriparakum and Air Force were neck and neck in terms of points until the team from Boyagama, coached by Amila Wijayapala, seized the first set at the end, with a score line of 26-24.
It was then that Siriparakum started bossing the court as they defeated their Air Force counterparts in the second set with a score of 25-18.
However, the Air Force team dug deep and unearthed a new found spirit within them during the third set. This was a noticeable feature during the set as Air Force forced some intense rallies which created many problems for Siriparakum to deal with.
But Air Force’s gallant efforts came to nothing once they reached the end of the set, when the score read 23-23. However the team from Boyagama won the set 25-23, and earning the coveted title of Novices National Volleyball Champions of 2016 in the women’s category.
Final Score – Siriparakum SC 26-24, 25-18, 25-23 Air Force
Awards
Third Place – Mawathagama Casual Line SC
Best Player – Nimeshika Sewwandi
Best Setter – Sunethra Priyadarshana
Best Attacker – Dilukshi Harshini
Men’s Final
From the get go, Sarath Gems were determined to keep a resilient New Star team down as the latter seemed to be confident and taking no prisoners in their style of play. They were able to secure the first set 25-21.
It was the same in the second round as they were able to contain an onslaught of great rallies initiated by New Star. The set ended with a score line of 25-23 in favour of Sarath Gems.
However New Star played with a new found form in the 3rd set, which caught their opponents slightly off guard as New Star trumped over Sarath Gems with a score line of 23-25.
Worry grew ever more constantly within Sarath Gems as they started waning away during the match. This fact was further established with the many unnecessary mistakes within the team. The eventual outcome of all those blunders led to New Star winning their second set, (Match’s fourth set) 22-25.
But New Star’s dream comeback was not to be as a the reformed Sarath Gems team fought back in order to win the title, thus resulting in a score line of 15-13 in the fifth and final set of the match, crowning Sarath Gems as the champions of the tournament
Final Score – Sarath Gems SC 25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25 & 15-13 New Star SC
Awards
Third Place – Wasana Bakers SC
Best Player – Kosala Senarathne (Sarath Gems SC)
Best Setter – L. G. C. Pushpakumara (Sarath Gems SC)
Best Attacker – S. G. A. Pathirana (New Star SC)
