Al Rayyan players (in red) try to thwart an attack by El Jaish during their Emir Cup volleyball clash yesterday. Defending champions Al Rayyan won 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 16-25, 15-13).
By Yash Mudgal/Doha
Defending champions Al Rayyan survived a scare to defeat El Jaish 3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 16-25, 15-13) and remain unbeaten in Group A of the Emir Cup volleyball tournament, at the Al Arabi indoor hall yesterday evening.
It was a remarkable fightback by Qatar Volleyball League champions Rayyan as their spikers served and blocked solid in the decider after having allowed the energetic Jaish to run away with the second and fourth sets.
The stands came alive as Jaish rose to the occasion to provide a fitting challenge to the champion team. Rayan almost froze as Jaish ran away with seven of the last eight points in the fourth set to get back into the fight.
In the second set also, Jaish jumped away to a 12-9 lead, allowing only two points to Rayyan, which looked to have run out of ideas and hit a concrete wall.
What stood out was Jaish’s ability to provide the finesse of touch rather than rely on brute force, as they dropped gentle bombs to cause panic in the Rayyan camp.
Rayyan had played solid in the first and the fifth sets when they kept Jaish at arm’s length.
Experience played a key role here as Rayyan spikers handled the second part of each set with composure after an even tussle in the earlier phase.
Cuban star Michael Sanchez was solid for the champions through out the match and it was he who brought the curtains down with a smash on match point.
Rayyan were leading 8-5 on changing sides in the decider, and they blocked superbly to pay back the Federation Cup champions in kind. The only sore point was the attitude of the Rayyan players who kept disputing line calls throughout the match.
“I am very happy. We are playing well as a unit. We have won all our group matches and hoping for a title winning performance again,” Rayyan’s Sanchez said after the match.
Apart from Sanchez, Ali Ahmed, Mario and Alaoui also played well for Rayyan.
The Jaish defenders' performance was also outstanding. Coach Adel Sennoun rotated his players smartly to keep them fresh, but Jaish ran out of steam at the crunch.
With this loss, Jaish’s campaign came to an end in the tournament. Jaish had defeated Gharafa, but lost to Police in the group matches to finish third. It was nevertheless, a commendable effort by the Jaish side who virtually took the fight to the rival camp, and dominated the match for the better part.
In the second match of the evening, Police defeated Gharafa 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-11) to finish second in the group and in the process qualified for the semi-finals.
Rayyan had defeated Gharafa and Police in their first two league encounters to finish on the top of the table and will take on the Group B second spot holders in the semi-final on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Al Arabi will meet Qatar Sports Club and Al Ahli will take on Al Sadd in Group B matches.
BELOW: Police (in white) beat Gharafa 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-11) to make it to the semifinals. (Photos: Jayan Orma)