Al Arabi Club will clash with defending champions El Jaish in the final of the QVA Cup Volleyball Tournament, the opening event of the domestic season, at their home court on Friday at 6 pm (Local Time).
In hard-fought semi-finals, Al Arabi got the better of last year’s runners-up Al Sadd Club after a marathon opening set by 40-38 25-22 23-25 20-25 15-6, while El Jaish came back from one set down to beat Al Ahli Club by 16-21 25-21 28-26 25-18.
The first set of the Al Arabi-Al Sadd match was quite dramatic. In the beginning, Al Arabi trailed by six points (5-11) before Kenyan smasher Philip Maiyo combined well with setter Seif Eldeen Majid and Ibrahim Ali to level the scores at 16.
Then the two teams went closely till 21-21. Maiyo was blocked and Thiago Oliveira smashed wide to concede a vital two-point advantage to the rivals. Maiyo cut back the margin but a looping shot by Rahimi Wadidi handed two set points to Al Sadd.
Maiyo saved the first one and then Wadidi was foiled, which allowed Al Arabi to force a pulsating extended play, in which Al Sadd had nine more set points but every time, they frustrated by the opponents.
Al Arabi, in the meantime, forced four of their set points and they sealed the set off the fifth one.
Al Arabi continued confidently and easily took the second set also go 2-0 up. But some loose play in the third enabled Al Sadd to hold upper hand. Al Arabi twice managed to narrow down the margin of five points. Later at 23-23, Ghanim al Rumaihi was blocked and Maiyo spanked the ball out, handing the set to Al Sadd.
The last year’s finalists piled up more pressure on Al Arabi and wrested another set to tie the scores 2-2 to force the tie-break set. Naji Mahmoud Naji’s lucky service fetched some crucial points to Al Sadd, who were powered home by George Kenzovic and the last point coming off an ace by him.
Al Arabi however regrouped themselves quickly in the fifth set. With Maiyo, Oliveira and Ali stepping up the pace, Al Sadd failed to respond. A few decisions were also close calls. Al Arabi got to 13-6 with Kenzovic being shown the red card by the referee. Naji Mahmoud smashed out and then Al Sadd did not try to return the Khalid Shamiya’s service, leaving Al Arabi winners.
Al Arabi coach Adel Senoun was happy with the way his team managed to hold nerves and come out winners.”We had a tough opening set. We took and won the second one to have a good 2-0 lead. But my players gave away some free points and allowed Al Sadd to regain the momentum.
“In the decider, Al Arabi raised the level and were able to win the match comfortably. I’m sure my team will learn from this match and never relax till the match is over. This is a funny sport and you can’t afford to take it easy till the end.
“I hope that my team will be more than ready for El Jaish and I expect a fighting final on Friday,” added Senoun.
النتائج
Al Arabi Club beat Al Sadd Club 40-38 25-22 23-25 20-25 15-6
El Jaish beat Al Ahli Club 16-21 25-21 28-26 25-18