The Championships ended over the weekend. Speaking to SportMonitor, CAVB Zone VI president, Khalid Cassam, said the competition went well and the LOC put all their effort to make sure that everything was in place. He admitted there were a few errors that were dealt with, adding that to err is human. Cassam also said the last edition had 44 teams in Lesotho and the Botswana edition had 45 teams instead of more than 50 teams they expected. “Some teams pulled out due to logistics challenges. Up Maputo were able to defend the women’s title and this year we have a new men’s champion being University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Wolves. The last two editions, the men’s title was won by Green Buffalos from Zambia. The level of competition was high compared to the past editions. The environment is exciting and it is exactly what we expected because we knew Batswana like volleyball,” Cassam said.
Meanwhile, Spiking Stars were defeated by 3-1 by Up Maputo from Mozambique in the final. The bronze medalists are Green Buffalos from Zambia after beating Mafolofolo 3-1. In the last edition, Spiking Stars finished in position 17. The winners from both men and women walked away $2, 500 richer. The runner ups pocketed $2, 000 and third placed teams took home $1, 500. Speaking to SportMonitor, Spiking Stars coach, Lee Tshipana, said his players were battling with injuries after a whole week of action. “If my players were fit, we were not going to lose with that margin. Qualifying for the final is an achievement on its own. My players had stage fright and I cannot blame them, they were up against one of the best teams in the region. I am impressed by their performance. My aim when I joined Spiking Stars was to reach Zone VI after five years, so this is a breakthrough,” Tshipana said.
He stated that the main lessons from the match was for players to enjoy their game and handle the pressure. Tshipana said moving forward, his players need a lot of recovery before going back to the league. Spiking Stars centre blocker, Laone Moromelwa, who was making her Zone VI debut, said she was impressed by her teammates' performance because they did not expect to reach the final as a small team. “Going forward, we are going to come back strong. We started the game on a slow pace because we know that Up Maputo is a tough customer. We came this far and there is no small team that can reach this level. Our technical bench and former players have really supported us all the way,” she said.
In the men’s final, it was a battle between two teams from Zimbabwe. Wolves overpowered Highlanders Bosso to clinch the title. Wolves won the pulsating battle 3-1. Bosso secured the silver medal while the bronze went to Buffalos. The former champions defeated Allianca from Mozambique 3-0.
