Ali Thameem
For the second year, the Maldives National Women’s Volleyball Team has won silver at the Cava Women’s Cup, defeated in the final once again by Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyz girls made a comeback to become the champions, winning three sets to one after Maldives had won the first set. The final score line stood 25-20, 17-25, and 21-25.
Maldives had the default line-up of Rashida, Areesha, Sakha, Shaha, Nareema and Joozan to start off the game.
Unlike the previous final in September last year, Maldives was unable to take the game into a fifth set. The first set, for the most part, was equally fought. Maldives was able to hold onto the lead taken at the nineteenth-point mark and held onto it for the rest of the set, winning by a five-point margin.
Just as in the first, the second set was closely fought for until the nineteenth point, when Maldives took a three-point lead and made it 22-19. It was the turning point in the game when Kyrgyz girls scored six points in succession, winning the set by 25-22.
Neither side took a 3-point lead until it drew 16-16 in the third set – when the away team took the lead and ran away with it, winning by even a bigger margin of 25-19.
The fourth and final set saw a similar pattern – an equal fight up to the eighteenth point. Maldives was however able to reduce the deficit down to just one point, at 21-20, before Kyrgyzstan took back control and made it to 25 points, ending it in 25-21.
Coming into the game, Maldives have had a boost of confidence after defeating Kyrgyzstan in a comeback back in the league stage. Maldives also had the advantage of playing at home, in front of their fans, against a team of teenagers – Kyrgyzstan had fielded a U19 team.
“Although Maldives had lost, I’d like to acknowledge the hard work and passion shown by the team”, said Vice President of the Maldives, Hussain Mohamed Latheef in a statement following last night’s result. “I applaud the sporting spirit shown by Maldives throughout the tournament”.
Prior to the final, Maldives were unbeaten in all four games including the semis – winning twelve out of thirteen sets.
