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UCU Doves took a giant step towards the National Volleyball League playoffs after a convincing 3-0 win over Nemostars at the Old Kampala Arena Sunday evening.
The two sides were separated by one point going into the game, and the Doves stretched the difference to four points and were firmly in control of the race to fourth place.
Doves' coach-player Elias Isiagi said before the game that it would be a do-or-die encounter for the university side.
And his side played like it was. Gideon Angiro went through the block to give UCU a 09-07 lead early in the first set.
Ian Akampa blocked George Aporu for the university side to lead 16-13 and force Nemostars into a timeout. However, that did not yield, and UCU snatched the first set 25-21 to set the pace.
That momentum was carried on into the second set, blowing Nemostars away with Vincent Odeke’s hard serve a menace.
Denying Nemostars the right first pass worked for Isiagi and his troops as they took the second set 25-19 and were well on course for victory.
Angiro and Mark Omara were a handful for Andrew Okapis’ charges in the third set, but it was Akampa who struck through the middle for UCU to take the third frame 25-23 and win the game in straight sets.
The victory leaves UCU in fourth place, four points ahead of chasing Nemostars.
For Nemostars, the loss pushes them back into sixth place, on 20 points, one behind Ndejje Sharks, who defeated Tigers 3-1 earlier in the day.
But with big games against Sport-S, KAVC and OBB still to come for the Doves, the race might still have significant subplots to come.
National Volleyball League - Sunday results
Men
Ndejje 3-1 Tigers (25-23, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23)
UCU Doves 3-0 Nemostars (25-21, 25-19, 25-23)
Women
OBB 3-0 Espoir (25-14, 25-13, 25-09)
KCB-Nkumba 0-3 KCCA (21-25, 19-25, 18-25)
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