Phantoms still in contention

The final round of the home-and-away state league volleyball season beckons for Phantoms teams on Saturday with five teams still in contention to make finals.

One team has secured its place in finals and one team will just miss out.

The premier men face the might of Monash University, knowing full well nothing less than a straight-sets win will enable them to play finals.

As the draw falls, they will know their destiny before taking the court, because if Yarra beats Victoria Universtiy, the Phantoms are out all together.

Reserves men have been playing elimination finals for the past two weeks, knowing that a slip up will cost them.

On Saturday they face a young and enthusiastic Yarra combination, which sits second on the ladder, but the boys will be confident after two good wins in the past two weeks.

Division-two men kept their hopes alive with a 3-0 win last week, and face off against Monash One, which sits on top of the ladder undefeated.

Phantoms played Monash One a month ago and lost in four sets, but will be a lot stronger this time and will fancy their chances of sneaking into the top six.

Division-three men last week upset Croydon 36ers, which were second on the ladder, and now face Monash, which is languishing near the bottom of the ladder.

A straight-sets win will be what the team is looking for, but it will hope some results go its way to see if it can sneak into fourth spot on the ladder.

Reserves women are comfortable in second spot and play Renegades.

Both teams are 11-2 for the season and will square off again in a fortnight’s time in the second semi-final.

Last time they played, Phantoms won in straight sets. The team will be strengthened with the inclusion of Kara Johnson and Susie Godfrey for this match.

Johnson’s division three girls scored a good win over Croydon 36ers last week and will take confidence into their match against Renegades.

The equation is simple for this team – win and they play finals. When they last met, Phantoms won in four.

Unfortunately, the only team that can’t make finals is the division-two girls. They finish the season with a 9-7 win-loss record. Of those seven losses, four were in five-set matches, underlying just how close and competitive this division has been.

Officials are taking entries for a winter competition across all grades. Competition starts on July 31.