The Malta Independent on Sunday
Good start for Fleur de Lys Royal Panda
Volleyball
Fleur de Lys Royal Panda opens the new Super League season with a clean win
Another 3-0 win against Balzan Flyers following the success during the Super Cup Final
The girls of Fleur de Lys Royal Panda were called to defend the league title after last season's success with the debut match against their most difficult opponentsBalzan Flyers. They managed to secure another win in three straight sets just a month following the win against the same opponents during the Super Cup final.
The two teams presented themselves with almost complete roster, ensuring that the spectators present at the Cottonera Sports Complex a good level of play between two teams that have proven to deserve their place at the topof the Maltese volleyball Super League. Fleur de Lys Royal Panda were still without Daniela Xuereb, who will not be fit to play for the time being, but recovered Francesca Paola Sarcina and Maria Caruana Demicoli who were missing during the SuperCup Final.
The first set saw Fleur de Lys Royal Panda attacking with very effective services and withimpeccable defense by libero IlariaPolato and good management of the counter-attack by setter Maria Costa, they were able to consolidatea good advantage until the set was closed with two winning blocks by middle blocker Thais Gatt. The second set was more balanced as Balzan Flyers were often in the lead. However,the girls coached by Salvatore Gennuso and Dalton Caruana, together with a wellthought substitution which saw the introduction ofsetter Sarah El Gasi, managed to re-organize themselves during the final stagesof the set. Attacks by outside hitter Francesca Paola Sarcina and an ace by opposite Viki Sebok were decisive in closing the second set in favour of the girls in blue.
In the third and final set,middle blocker Isabel Cutajar handed her opponents a number of well-placedblocks and with outside hitter Maria CaruanaDemicolibeing instrumental with her attacks and defense, the team was led to the first success of the season in the Super League division. By securing this win with three clean sets against one of the most likely contenders of the Super League title, Fleur de Lys Royal Panda managed to build an advantage for what is promising to be a very interesting season.
At the end of the match Fleur de Lys Royal Panda captain Maria Costa said, "We are very happy with this win.It was important for us today to confirm that we can win again after ourlatest success in the Super Cup. Today’s merits go to the whole team who trains hard during the week. But this was only the first match of a long season and we have to keep working like that."