Sharjah Sports Club for Women celebrated a convincing winon the first day of volleyball at the Arab Women’s Sports Tournament 2018 (AWST) defeating Oman’s Sahar Club by three sets to nil.The match was held as part of the fourth – and largest – editionof the event, taking place under the patronage of Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) and Chairperson of Sharjah Women's Sports Foundation (SWSF).In the first set, Sharjah’s players pressured the Omani team into some early errors both in defense and attack, although Sahar showed plenty of resolve, keeping the game closebut running out of steam as Sharjah started to pull away with a 12-10 lead and then closing the set out with a score of 25-18.The second set was a show of stamina and strength of character, as the score levelled at 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12 in the first half but Sharjah began to run away with the game, eventually posting a score of 25 to Sahar’s 14.
In the third set of the match, riding high on confidence,the Sharjah club looked unassailable as they widened the gap from 9-4to 14-4, before eventually closing the door on the Omanis with a final score of 25-12and securing a highly impressive three points.It was a similar story for Al Wasl Club who showed a clean pair of heels to Al Muharraq from Bahrain after a temporary glitch as they emerged victorious with a win of three sets to one.Despite such renowned names as Hajar Al Ansari and Brazil’s Lanka, the Bahraini players were no match for Al Wasl, who breezed through the first set 25-12, thanks in no small part to the dominance of their American player Amber, who scored 19 of those points.The second set, however, showed there was no room for complacency in the Al Wasl camp as the game balanced on a knife-edge up to the final minutes, which saw Al Muharraq level the set scores with a 25-22 victory.Sets three and four reverted back to type though and while it was no easy win, Al Wasl proved to be the stronger of the two teams, finishing the round with 24-17 and 25-18 triumphs in the third and fourth sets respectively.