Itekeng overcame the Mahalapye based side 3-1 in a highly contested match at Otse Police College yesterday.
The match kicked off the men's volleyball season. Itekeng started the first set brightly while Mag Stimela committed costly errors. It looked like it was going to be a one-sided set until when Itekeng led 14-7. Realising that his charges were heading for humiliation, Mag Stimela coach, Maboka Molefi called for time out. After the mini-break, Mag Stimela came out inspired and scored five straight points. The set became closer and the two sides were at some point tied at 18-18. However, Itekeng eventually wrapped it out 26-22. In the second set, Mag Stimela looked the better at the initial stage. They raced into a 20-15 lead but Itekeng never gave up ensuring a closely contested set. The two teams were at some point tied at 23-23, 24-24 and 25-25 until Itekeng grabbed the set 28-26. Mag Stimela finally won the third set 25-18.
Inspired by Utlwang Lekgaki, Itekeng came back strongly in the fourth set and dominated from the start. With the score at 17-9, Mag Stimela tried to stage an incredible come back, but their efforts were thwarted by the more efficient Itekeng who eventually won 25-16 to start their campaign with a victory. Coach, Moreri Ramme was happy with the overall performance of his side especially as it was the first match of the season. He said they have finally managed to secure a training ground in Gaborone where most of their players reside. "Most of our players stay here and with the new ground, they are able to train together while the remaining few train in Jwaneng. In the past, we did not have a training ground in Gaborone while most of our players stay here," he told The Sport Monitor in a post match interview. Mag Stimela coach, Molefi said they committed careless mistakes which made a difference. "I cannot say our opponents were better than us. Our concentration was too low and if we could work on that, we will be fine because we are good on attack and blocks," he said. Meanwhile, Monica Alfred led Kalavango women's team to victory in their first match of the season, beating Mag Stimela 3-0.
