UWC made an emphatic start to the defence of their Varsity Beach Volleyball title with a 41-24 victory over NMMU in Camps Bay.
The defending champions made a fast start as they raced out to an early 8-1 lead, leaving the Madibaz chasing the game from the outset.
NMMU rallied from there and fought their way back into the game, but UWC still took a commanding 22-11 lead into the half-time break.
NMMU struggled to keep up with the pace in the second half, and in the end it was a comfortable 41-24 victory for UWC.
The opening match on the second court was a much closer affair with local hopes UCT battling it out with Kovsies who are making their first appearance at Varsity Beach Volleyball.
The home side took a narrow 15-13 advantage into half-time, but pulled away in the second half as they found their rhythm on home turf.
UCT made their substitution at the break with Simphiwe Ndaba replacing Cassie Toogood, and that proved crucial as they shut the Bloemfontein side out of the game.
The second round of matches saw a northern derby between TUT and Limpopo on the main-court, whilst Gauteng rivals UP-Tuks and UJ battled it out on the second court.
TUT and Limpopo were very evenly matched, with the lead changing hands a number of times, and there was no separating them at half-time as they went into the break deadlocked at 18-18.
Limpopo got their noses in front early in the second half, but the response from TUT was emphatic as they stormed past them to clinch a 40-30 victory.
The clash between UJ and Tuks was just as tense, with neither side able to break away in a hard-fought match, and it was Tuks who held a 13-11 advantage at the break.
Tuks’ Margrit Springer found some serious form in the second half as she knocked over six consecutive aces, to give the Pretoria outfit a valuable buffer.
UJ fought back valiantly, and the match went down to a thrilling finish on the final point, but Tuks did enough to hang on and secure a 26-24 win.
Varsity Beach Volleyball results:
UWC 41-24 NMMU
UCT 34-22 Kovsies
TUT 40-30 Limpopo
Tuks 26-24 UJ
