THE unbeaten run of Harare City Women in the season met an abrupt halt as they suffered a 3-0 defeat to their adversaries, UZ Wolves, during the second semifinal of the Harare Premier Volleyball League at Support Unit Courts in Chikurubi, Harare, on Saturday.
The Lady Citizens, who took no prisoners for all but one match this season before being arrested 3-2 by giant killers, Support Unit Women were favourites to book a final berth on paper.
However, duels against their bitter rivals, UZ Wolves, are only advisable to write about that upon blowing the final whistle.
Harare City barely shed a set for much of their matches as their high attacking play and some water-tight defence saw them beat their opponents on the whitewash.
But on Saturday, the tide changed. The pendulum swung the other way, and the Lady Citizens tasted their medicine as UZ Wolves ran riot, winning the encounter 3-0.
A question of Harare City being overconfident or UZ Wolves wanting it more than their opponents.
The men’s fifth-place playoff saw Harare City Men succumb to UZ Wolves on a day belonging to the Wolves family.
In the first women’s semifinal encounter, a resurgent Support Unit held on to a 3-2 victory against Manyame Falcons. The Eagles picked up their form at the right time, gatecrashing into the semifinals on one fine weekend in which they edged both UZ Wolves and Harare City.
Now the stage is set for an exciting finale with both sides who had remote chances of making it into the final having a go at each other on Sunday.
In the Men’s semifinal played on Saturday afternoon, NABA, who have revolutionalised the local Volleyball landscape with their high standards of professionalism, dismissed Support Unit 3-1 to sail through to Sunday’s final.
NABA will be joined by an equally disciplined and professional army side outfit, Black Rhinos, who beat Black Mambas 3-1.
