(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Al Rayyan overcame Police resistance to retain Qatar Cup Volleyball title yesterday.
At the Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) Indoor Hall, Rayyan took 105 minutes to clinch their third title of the season with a 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-17) win. They had earlier won the season-opening Super Cup and the Arab Club Championships in Tunis.
'We knew that we needed to perform at a high level to beat Police. That's exactly what we did. We pushed a bit through our service and had a strong attack, Al Rayyan Club coach Carlos Schwanke said.
He added: 'We tried to find our own rhythm and upset Police with good block and defence. We lost a bit of attack during the second set that we lost but recovered well to win the title. We're strong and on the right path. The next target here is the Amir Cup.
This was Rayyan's 10th title in 11 events. It started from 2016-17 Amir Cup. The only title they missed during this period was the recently concluded QVA League that was bagged by Police.
In the first set, with the help of some solid defence, the defending champions went six points clear (12-6). Police came back strong and reduced the gap to two points (16-18). However, Al Rayyan sealed the set with Belal's winner. Police saved one set-point through John Chigbo's spike but they could not prolong the opener when Marcus pushed the ball down with force to put Al Rayyan 1-0 up.
A determined Police regrouped in the second set to take an initial lead and later thwarted Rayyan's repeated attempts to equalize, before Mikko Oivanen set up the set-point with a power-packed smash. Willner Rivas went in with a kill to win the set.
Al Rayyan broke away early in the third set before Police again recovered, threatening many times to equalise. A fine show by Marcus put Rayyan in the lead again.
In the fourth set, Rayyan were 6-8 down, but they bounced back to make it 8-8 and then took a commanding 13-8 advantage. This set them on the course for another title as they were leading 18-10. Belal rose from the middle to set up the match point (24-15) and they did not have to wait much as Rychlicki blasted the winner to clinch the title.
For Rayyan, Rychlicki scored a match-high 22 points, while Marcus scored 14, Belal 12, Fawe Bairama 10 and Vukasinovic nine. For Police, Rivas led the scoring with 19 points. Nadir Abubakr secured 13 and Chigbo contributed 10.
QVA president Ali Ghanim al-Kuwari said Al Rayyan deserved the title, adding that they are the best team this season. He expressed his satisfaction about the level of performance the two teams offered in the final match, noting that Al Rayyan had a great season but the tournament was generally of high level.
Winners Al Rayyan pocketed QR300,000, while Police received QR200,000 for their second successive runners-up finish.
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