A Meradong player blocks a spike from Mukah. Meradong went on to win the exciting final group match 3-1.
SIBU: Defending champion Sibu A team easily topped Group A but it was the Meradong team who stole the limelight as they upset last year’s runner-up Mukah 3-1 (27-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-14) )to top Group B in the Sarawak Open Volleyball Championship at Rejang Park Volleyball Stadium.
Mukah thus finished second in Group B, after earlier 3-0 wins over Sibu B and Bintulu 3-0 while Kuching took second spot in Group A, also beating Limbang and Miri 3-0 each.
The stage is set for the semi-final showdown between Sibu A and Mukah and Meradong against Kuching scheduled for late yesterday evening.
“It was a line up according to script and the tournament is getting more and more interesting,” a source from the volleyball fraternity here said.
There is little to separate Sibu A, Meradong and Mukah as all three title contenders have several former national and state players in their respective line-up.
In Group A final round tie between Sibu and Limbang yesterday, Sibu rested former national player Pang Sii Chuong but still wrapped up the match within 40 minutes winning 25-13, 25-10, 25-12.
All eyes were on the Meradong-Mukah showdown in the final Group B match as both teams vied to top the group and avoid tournament favorite Sibu A in the semi-finals.
The first set showed how the match could have gone either way. Mukah started off strongly but Meradong, marshaled by former national players Moh Hing Shin and Yew Yii Hock, responded to surge to an early lead at 8-4.
Meradong’s Tang Chee Hong and Sim Ming Whuang were also in their element and their precise spiking limited Mukah’s chances for any counter-attack.
Meradong led 24-21 but Mukah crawled their way back to level at 24-24, thrilling the audience.
Service changed hands twice before Meradong eventually took the first game 27-25.
Mukah recovered quickly in the second game and it was point for point to 14-14 before they edged ahead 21-16, 23-18 and finally won 25-20. Their second set win could be attributed to good coordination and attack led by state spiker Anderson Chan.
A reshuffled line-up appeared to work for Meradong in the third game. They managed to thwart Mukah’s resurgence with a 25-21 advantage.
Mukah dug deep in the fourth game to lead 7-6 but that was the furthest they could go as Meradong players, notably Yii Hock and Ming Whuang, went on a scoring spree to seal victory at 25-14.
The playoff match for 3rd & 4th placings will be held at 9am, to be followed by the final match at 10.15am and the closing ceremony at 11.30am today.