Seychelles’ ladies volleyball team ARSU to face Mauritian side in club competition final
Sport |Author: Betymie Bonnelame | December 2, 2016, Friday @ 19:50| 4697 views
File Photo: Seychelles team Arsu (on the left wearing blue and white) in action in the 2014 CAVB Zone 7 Club Championship playing against Reunion island's team St Denis. (Joena Bonnelame, Seychelles News Agency)
(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles’ ladies volleyball team Anse Royale (ARSU) made it through to the final of the 23rd volleyball championship for the clubs of the zone 7 taking place in Mauritius.
ARSU will face Quatre Bornes VBC of Mauritius on Saturday.
In an all Seychellois semi-final on Thursday, ARSU won 3-0 against Cascade, with the set score reading 26-24, 25-19 and 25-13. Quatre Borne VBC’s accession to the final follows the team’s 3-1 victory over last year’s finalist Stef’ Auto of Madagascar.
In a phone interview with SNA on Friday, ARSU’s coach Julien Onezime said the semi-final against Cascade was not difficult.
“They [Cascade] played well in the first set but then they slowed down and gave little resistance in the second and third sets. It was an easy win,” said Onezime.
For Saturday’s final match coach Onezime said: “We are going all out and remain positive. We are going to do our best to win the match.”
ARSU, coming from Anse Royale in the south of the main island, Mahe, maintains its track record of reaching the final of the competition for Zone 7 clubs organised by the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB).
Zone 7 includes countries from the Indian Ocean – Madagascar, Mauritius, the Comoros and Seychelles – a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean
ARSU has won the competition 9 times -- in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2014 and 2015.
Onezime told SNA that his players are in high spirit ahead of the decisive match on Saturday.
“We’ve had a short training session today [Friday] and we have only minor injuries which will not affect the team,” he added.
The other Seychellois ladies team, Cascade that won the competition in 1999 and 2001 – was expected to play for 3rd place against Stef’ Auto of Madagascar on Friday.
On the men’s side the two Seychelles teams were eliminated after the group matches. Beau Vallon the runner-up in last year’s competition finds itself in 7th position after losing 3-0 against Roche Bon Dieu de Rodrigues on Thursday. Premium Spikers was expected to face the same team from Rodrigues on Friday, in the battle for 5th place.