The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
SPARTANS outlined their dominance of the Bulawayo Volleyball League when they clinched the men and women’s 2019 league titles.
The men’s season ended last weekend with Spartans’ victory over ZRP Raiders securing the league title and enabling them to qualify for the national league.
Spartans finished with 60 points while Nust Vikings were second on 55 points with Highlanders coming in third a point behind while Luveve High was fourth with 41 points.
The women’s section of the league had already been completed with Spartans having emerged victors with 28 points while ZRP Raiders was second with 20 points followed by Luveve High on 18 points.
Hurricanes, Nust and Byo Poly were fourth, fifth and sixth with 12, seven and two points.
Spartans coach, Vulindlela Moyo attributed their victory in both leagues to a serious approach on their part to the sport.
He said they have been putting in the hard work at training and this has shown in the results.
“We have been playing well really and I can attribute this to the hard work on the part of the players who have shown great commitment both at training and when we are on the competitive field.
“I also think our recruitment policy has really worked well in our favour because we have been bringing in youngsters as young as 16 years old from a number of schools across the city and they have proved a marvel to work with,” said Moyo.
He revealed he has managed to create working relationships with sports teachers at schools such as Cowdray Park, Mpopoma High, Msiteli High, Luveve and Gifford who have been assisting him identify and recruit talented players to his club.
The acclaimed volleyball coach added most of the girls in his female squad come from Mpopoma High hence the school team managed to clinch the Nash national Under-17 volleyball title.
Moyo said it was his wish to see more teams take the sport seriously and put in more effort in their work.
“I am happy we have more teams this year but we need more proper coaches to improve the technical astuteness of the players and also improve the competitiveness of the league. You find that there are many player/coaches instead of one focusing on a single role.
“The increase in the number of teams has been one of the welcome developments this season in the men and women’s leagues. The officiating was also superb,” he said.
Moyo decried lack of sponsorship saying it is likely to affect their participation in the national league.
He expressed hope that Nust and Hurricanes will also register for the national league to ensure there would be matches played in Bulawayo to enable them to reduce travelling costs.
The national volleyball league had been scheduled to start this weekend but teams are yet to fully affiliate with fees coming in at $1 500.
