Ndejje Sharks Captain Ronald Kitosi was the man to stop as his side grabbed all three points against Tigers on Saturday in the National Volleyball League. The result means the Sharks with 14 points oust Nemostars who drop from third to fifth place on the chart.
Hanji Umar led the way for Tigers scoring three consecutive points, to hand them the lead before Shark’s wing attacker Nuwareba Posiano scored his side’s first point which was followed by a pounding from Ronald Mugenyi, to keep Ndejje trailing closely.
The Sharks would later force a set lead off a faulty court cover by the opponent but the stability in the Tigers’ attack from Hangi Umar and Sunday Ofoyrwoth kept them nearer.
Tigers lost three consecutive points to bad reception and a clueless net defense, cornering Malik Damulira to call for a time out for the boys to catch a breathe.
Ndejje remained the dominant side on the attack as Tigers totally lost composure and the first set too.
In Set two, Tigers once again claimed the lead from a block on Ndejje’s Posiano but were quick to throw away the lead as their setter Thomas Karkar served his turn off court.
Tiger’s Kyakuse Frank and Sunday labored to keep Posiano at bay with a solid block that saw them return to lead by four points at 7-3.
A batted reception by Kitosi extended Tiger’s lead to five points and cornered Sadat to call for his first time out as the boys seemed out of control.
Set two saw Tiger’s Maxwell Okello dominate the attack line squeezing through Mugenyi and Tukulekwa Martin’s blocks but both teams failed to use service, played catch-up and maintained a flow that ended with Tigers winning their first set of the day.
“The win means a lot though I was a bit disappointed by the set we lost. We needed three points and a three Nil victory to seal the third place.” Ndejje Head Coach Sadat Waguma said.
Ndejje came from two points down in set three to level the score and later claim a “not so comfortable” lead at 08-10, with Maxwell remaining an “X” to find.
The Sharks failed to bolster their presence while in the lead and it was not long before Tigers caught up with them at 19.
Three points to the set climax and Tigers’ Mulondo Mustapha was booked for a conduct violation that saw them lose the set by two points.
In the fourth set, Ndejje claimed a quick lead for the first time in the game and came off as organized enough to win it through a dominant display on the net trade.
The Sharks expanded their lead further to eight points as they capitalized on Tigers’ failure to complete a basic three-touch rule with a faulty first touch.
“We tried our best, we knew Ndejje is a stubborn team, and offensively are doing well. We only failed to reach their level with a few errors in the attack and serve.” Malik Damulira Tigers Coach said.
“This is a lesson as we get back to train for Nemostars. We shall be working hard on the errors we made in the attack.” He added.
Tigers managed to regroup and narrowed down Ndejje’s lead to four points but the rift proved too large to catch, as Ronald Kitosi once again sent the fans into a frenzy with a hard going for the 20th point and took all three points in the end.
In their next fixture, the Sharks play defending champions OBB in their final round one game on 20th -November-, and Sadat thinks of the clash as a tight one that requires timely preparation.
“That last game will be a technical test since they are league champions but we are going to prepare according to how they play.” He said.
