Volleyball: Sunshine Spikers, Plateau Rocks emerge champions of Regional Unity Cup

 

Sunshine Spikers of Ondo and Plateau Rocks are champions of the men and women's category of the just concluded 2022 Regional Unity Invitational Challenge Cup in Oloru, Kwara State on Friday.

Sunshine Spikers defeated New Waves of Ogun State 3-2 (27-25, 12-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11) in the men's final while Plateau Rocks pummeled young Niger Raven 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-17) at the Government Secondary School (GSS) Oloru, Moro Local Government Area.

The Captain of Sunshine Spikers, Daniel Nathaniel commended his teammates for not giving up in the fourth set.

The National team player said, "I am happy Sunshine Spikers won their first trophy in 2022; this trophy will inspire us to play better this season".

Coach of Plateau Rocks women's team, Rakiya Mohammed expressed happiness beginning the 2022 volleyball season with a giant trophy.

The assistant coach of the National U18 Girls team said, "Some of the girls that played the finals are still in secondary schools. I tried an experiment of blending the few senior players and young players at the challenge cup and it worked. This is the revival of Plateau Rocks women's team in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Sponsor of the Challenge Cup, Engineer Suleiman Rotimi Iliasu told newsmen that he is impressed with the turnout of players, coaches and spectators.

Engineer Iliasu said the 3rd edition of the Regional Unity Invitational Challenge Cup was made possible by Kwara State Governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq who is an advocate of youths in government.

The Kwara State Commissioner for Works and Transportation said, "I am happy with the turnout of National team players (Junior and Senior) and young volleyball players playing on the same court. The game of volleyball has come to stay in my home town and next year’s challenge cup will be bigger.”

In the third place matches, Oloru Super Stars beat Nile University 3-1 (27-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-14) to settle for bronze medal in the men's category while Oloru Super Angels defeated Legacy VC 3-1 (25-14, 25-16, 21-25, 25-13) to snatch the bronze medal.

Volleyball: Rakiya Mohammed reveals Plateau Rocks target at Regional Unity Invitational Cup

 

The Head Coach of Plateau Rocks women's team, Rakiya Mohammed said her team wants to lift the trophy at the 2022 Regional Unity Invitational Cup in Moro, Kwara State.

Mohammed stated this after Plateau Rocks beat Golden Spikers of Anambra state 2-0 (25-20, 25-15) at the ongoing 2022 Regional Unity Invitational Cup on Tuesday.

The National U18 Girls Coach revealed that all the participating teams are threats to her team adding that the Semifinals will be won outside the court.

She said, "It is my desire that Plateau Rocks wins the 2022 Regional Unity Invitational Cup. This is a new beginning for my team because we are in the process of rebuilding a brand new women's team.

"If you look critical at the team, you will see that it a a mixture of experienced and young players. We decided to bring a legend like Dorathy Egbim and National team player, Albertina Francis to mentor the girls on and off the court.

"Plateau Rocks won two matches and this means we are in the Semifinals of the invitational. I will work on the psychology of my players before the game so that it will be a stroll in the park when they meet their opponents on Thursday."

Results of match Day 2:

Women:

Niger Raven v Olalomi Royal Spikers 2-0 (25-16, 25-16)

Plateau Rocks v Golden Spikers of Anambra 2-0 (25-20, 25-15)

Oloru Super Angels v Trailblazers VC of Bayelsa 2-0 (25-18, 25-22)

Kada Emeralds v Legacy VC 0-2 (22-25, 24-26)

Men:

Legacy VC v Sunshine Spikers 0-2 (21-25, 29-31)

New Waves VC v OFFA VC 2-0 (25-20, 25-18)

Oloru Super Stars v Kwara United 2-0 (26-24, 25-15)