Wits Jaguars finish second on the Johannesburg Volleyball Union log despite UJ defeat.
The Wits Jaguars volleyball team lost a five set game to the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in the Johannesburg Volleyball Union game on Monday, August 26 at the Old Mutual Sports Hall.
UJ won three sets in a row at a pace of 19-25, 22-25 and 20-25 respectively.
Both teams seemed to have prepared for the match, but Wits lost the momentum as the opposition started scoring just a few seconds into the game.
The home team, Wits were 9-16 down 13 minutes in the game as they missed the spiked balls from UJ.
The Jaguars’ struggles with blocking and serving balls saw them one set down.
The game heated up when the second set started off with a push and pull as both teams tried to keep up with the pace, making it harder to anticipate who would win the set as both teams were neck on neck.
At 34 minutes, Wits was leading with 11-10, but that changed a minute later when UJ’s came almost too fast, leveling the field to an 11-all deadlock.
The visitors were determined to move past their 15-all score reading, and continued to bring more points in as the clock kept ticking. UJ supporters chanted “One more!” repeatedly from the stands at 21 – 24 to encourage their players.
Going into the third and determining set of whether the game will continue (if Jaguars win) or finish following UJ winning. Jaguars served the first ball and scored in the first minute. The Jaguars leveled in the second minute and kept this intensity for five minutes.
Wits spiker, Grace Mwale, helped her team stay afloat by striking well but the team got stuck at twenty goals and watched the opposition’s score go five goals up in three minutes.
Jaguars coach, Zweli Ngwenya expected the match to be challenging, but was pleased about the squad’s log position.“We expected it to be a tough match. “We wanted it so bad but unfortunately, we fell short. This is our first time to occupy second position on the log,” he added.
Assistant coach and home team captain, Lenah Fatah told Wits Vuvuzela that they were well prepared for the game, however, “the team is not good at trailing behind” and that demotivated the players.
Raycine Nana-Sunker, former national team player and UJ captain said, “It was a very technical game, the team wasn’t easy to beat.” She added that, they need more aggression going forward.
The two teams will be part of the top four teams to participate in JVU knockout tournament in the first week of September.
FEATURED IMAGE: UJ playing against Wits Jaguars playing during a JVU league game at Wits Old Mutual Sports Hall. Photo: Rose Clemence Shayo
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