Zamalek clinches a berth in the 2012 FIVB Men’s Club World Championship – Volleyball news
Egyptian men’s volleyball club team Zamalek defeated archrival Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia in the final match of 2012 African men’s club volleyball championship on Sunday, April 29.
The crucial match was hosted by Tunisian City Sousse but the home team failed to benefit from the familiar conditions and emotional support of local fans.
Zamalek proved to be better in the match and settled for 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-18, 31-29) victory over Etoile du Sahel. The home squad put up a valiant effort but managed to win only one set in the match, which was not enough to lead them to victory.
With the final match victory, Zamalek earned the right to represent Africa at the 2012 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship in Doha, Qatar, which is scheduled to take place in October.
Zamalek added fifth African title to its tally as the Egyptian team previously secured the African titles in 1984, 1987, 2008, and 2009.
Equipped with stupendous support of local fans, the home team started out on a good note. They produced powerful serves and tried to put pressure on the opponents. However, the Egyptian men seemed totally prepared for the competition. They showed great consistently
in reception and responded in the same tone.
As a result, the score remained incredibly close in the first set. The hosts earned one-point lead at the first technical timeout but visiting team soon traded the lead.
During the first timeout, the Egyptian team formulized a new game strategy and came up with strong offence thereafter. Tunisian middle blockers and defensive expert dropped many shots, which helped Zamalek to take the score to 16-10. Mohamed Abdel Moneim
of Zamalek hit with great ferocity and led his team to first-set win at 25-17.
The loss of the opening set simply raged up the home team. Tunisian men paid more attention on defence in the second set and managed to keep the opponents behind the attack line. With the help of solid defence and convincing attack attempts, Etoile du Sahel
controlled the operations of the game. Chaker Ghezal killed many of the Egyptian attacks and saved crucial points. Egyptian side could only score 16 points in second set, while Tunisia achieved set points, 25-16.
With second set win, many would have thought that Etoile du Sahel received its form back but the happiness of Tunisian fans was short-lived. Zamalek showed no mercy in third set and held off Tunisian team for 25-18 win.
Nonetheless, Etoile du Sahel gave a really tough time to guest team in the fourth set. The point-to-point battle of two teams continued for long and finally Zamalek hit the mark with 31-29 win in the final set.
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