Another volleyball season has come to an end, and with it, the evaluation period every club and team goes through when assessing the performance throughout that season. No less than 157 matches were played between September and April, with honours being awarded in 11 different competitions. As is customary, the Fr. Tony Parnis National Cup will close off the season in the coming weekends. For four particular clubs, this season has been a season full of successes, and whilst for some teams these were a repeat of last season’s successes, for one other it was completely the first time.
Sliema Wanderers managed to etch their club’s name for the first time ever when they managed to win the Ladies’ First Division League, after the Runners’ Up position they obtained last year. Sliema had to overcome the fierce opposition put forward by Swieqi Phoenix, even if the latter never managed to beat the Wanderers in the three league matches this year. However, Sliema’s defeat at the hands of Fleur de Lys 2 at the beginning of the season meant that this particular division remained tight till the very end, with only one point separating Sliema from Swieqi before the last match of the season. However, Sliema won 3-1 to make sure that this year they became the 1 st Division Champions for the first time.
On their part, Swieqi Phoenix had a string of successes in the Youth Categories, and for the second year running, they managed to win all three age group competitions organised by the Malta Volleyball Association. Swieqi Phoenix’s domination in these three competitions was a total one, when they not only won the three categories without losing a match, but they did this without even losing one set. Balzan Flyers, Paola and Sliema Wanderers shared the Runners’ up position in the U/18, U/16 and U/14 categories respectively.
Balzan Flyers was once again the prevailing side in the Ladies’ Seniors Competitions, winning all trophies except the season opening Super Cup, which it lost against Fleur de Lys. However, after winning the John Bugeja Tournament and the Christmas Cup, Balzan managed to repeat last year’s success and win the Ladies’ Super League, remaining unbeaten till the end of the season. The girls in pink were the most consistent throughout the season, with only Fleur de Lys and Paola managing to push them to their limits in some of the matches. However, these last two lacked consistency during parts of the season, whilst Balzan Flyers kept marching ahead towards their second league title in a row.
In the Men’s competitions, Valletta Mapei continued where they left in 2015-2016, winning all the competitions at stake. Their main opponents, Fleur de Lys, lost some precious points against Aloysians and against the same Valletta in the crucial part of the season, thus not managing to produce an effective claim to the title. Valletta’s dominance was evident throughout the whole season, winning the John Bugeja Tournament and the Super Cup at the beginning of the season, and culminating in the Super League success.
