Kathmandu, June 8

New Diamond Academy and Nepal APF Club registered straight-set victories and advanced to the final of the KNP National Women’s Volleyball Championship here at NSC covered hall today.

In the first semi-final match, APF defeated their departmental rivals Nepal Police Club. APF opened with a 25-11 win and doubled the lead with a 25-20 victory in the second set before making it 3-0 with a comfortable 25-16 win the third set.

Saraswoti Chaudhary was the star performer of the match as she added 21 points from spike, while Nebica Chaudhary added 15 and Usha Bista earned four. For NPC, Kopila Upreti earned 11 points from spike, while Manisha Chaudhary added seven.

In another match, NDA sidelined Western Region Volleyball Association 3-0. NDA registered a 25-22 victory in the first set but the margin was much less in the next two as Western could earn just nine and 14 points respectively.

Pratibha Mali had a total of 66 spikes and she converted 38, while setter Kripa Adhikari earned seven points from service. Western skipper Manju Gurung and Aruna Shahi tried hard but their efforts were not enough. Gurung added a total of nine points, while Shahi got eight.

The third-place playoff match and final of the tournament, organised by Sher Bahadur Khadka Memorial Trust, are slated for Friday. Top two teams will receive Rs 150,000 and Rs 100,000 respectively, while the third-placed team will get Rs 50,000. And, the player of the tournament will receive Rs 15,000, while the best seven individuals — spiker, quicker, setter, blocker, defender, server and coach — will earn Rs 3,000 each.