THE Vanguard Volleyball Club from Georgetown and Young Achievers from West Demerara emerged victorious yesterday in the Lenny Shuffler Volleyball Tournament that was played over the weekend at the National Gymnasium.

Vanguard proved themselves the most dominant female team with a 3-1 win in the best-in-five championship battle against the Castrol Strikers.

In the game, the national champions used their strength in spiking and depth in setting to control the game and eventually wear down their opponents.

The first set was a tight 25-23 battle before the Strikers rebounded with a 25-17 win to even the clash. Excellent power spiking from several of the players, including national U-19 cricketer, Cherry-Ann Fraser, pushed the eventual winners forward and although their opponents fought back, it was not enough as the last two games ended 25-19, 25-13.

Earlier in the competition, both teams had defeated the Port Mourant Training Centre (PMTC) Volleyball Club in the three-team, round-robin battle, while Vanguard had also claimed a 3-2 win over the Strikers.

According to president of the Guyana Volleyball Federation, Levi Nedd, the competition will be used to select national squads for any upcoming competitions. He said that a few clubs which were invited to compete missed the tournament due to extenuating circumstances.
In the male competition, Young Achievers battled past the Premier Eagles in a keen contest on Sunday afternoon before they defeated the PMTC team in the final a short while after.
The four-team male battle also included the Rollers from New Amsterdam.

Against the Eagles, the Achievers claimed a 3-0 win: 25-19, 25-20, 25-23, while in the final, the West Demerara team got past a spirited PMTC side 25-10, 25-23, 23-25 and 25-21.