Battling teams vie for volleyball honours

The final set of league fixtures in the Perth and District Recreational Volleyball League provided a spectacular climax to the Covid-condensed season.

Held at Perth College on Sunday evening, teams had been divided into two seeded sections based on their league cup performances.

The remaining fixtures saw the top two play in a straight final with the second-placed teams going head-to-head for third and fourth places.

The main fixture on court one was the meeting of Nae Fear and St Juan to decide who would finish top.

Jayne Cafferty’s Nae Fear stormed ahead of the St John’s Academy lads, taking an early 8-1 lead.

There was a revival but it was too little too late, with the first set going 25-17 and the second followed suit.

Court two had last season’s league champions, PLUS Perth, already in pole position and with two more wins under their belt they secured top spot to meet Nae Fear in the final.

PLUS Perth took the early initiative to lead 9-1 and would later claim the opener 25-20.

But Nae Fear showed their spirit and secured the second set 25-19 just as the final whistle sounded.

With the match tied at one set each, it was set points count back which came into play.

And that was devastating for Nae Fear as it was a solitary point which resulted in Susan Scott’s PLUS Perth retaining the league title after a two-year Covid layoff.

The third and fourth play off between Kinross Cosmos and St Juan got off to a nervous start with points being traded up to five each.

Cosmos then started to creep ahead with some fine hitting from young Alex Pritchard.

The Kinross side kept their noses ahead to win the first set 25-16 but the match was soon levelled up with the students taking the second 25-18.

With only minutes remaining, Kinross stormed ahead 6-0 and held on to claim third place.