The NMMU Madibaz beat Kovsies 52-41 in Stellenbosch on Sunday to move past them into second place on the Varsity Netball standings.
The bonus-point win will give NMMU valuable momentum heading into the semifinal, which will also be held in Stellenbosch on Monday.
The Madibaz made a confident start to the match and managed to force Kovsies onto the back foot early on.
The Eastern Cape side were moving the ball around well and some neat passing movements saw them get the better of the Kovsies defence to build up a 14-5 lead by the first break.
They managed to maintain that cushion in a hard-fought second period which saw both sides trade blows without gaining an upper hand.
The Madibaz went into half-time with a 25-17 lead, and they stretched that to 42-30 by the start of the final period.
With Kovsies some way behind focus shifted to whether the Madibaz would secure the bonus point they needed to finish in second place.
They did just that as they cruised to a comfortable 52:41 victory in the end.
