10 Jul 2016

Diphatsa Volleyball Club’s new libero Meffrey Chindumbo has been hailed as a stabiliser for a hitherto struggling Francistown side.

The youngster from Bulawayo spearheaded Diphatsa’s attacks whilst simultaneously providing a barrier in defence. His agility and ability to cover space in a blink of an eye rendered Diphatsa a tough customer for Ramotswa Spiking Stars.

Not only that, the former Rail Stars (Zimbabwe) libero discharged his duties with due diligence, ensuring that no balls dropped inside his court. His superb passing seemed without fault and so was his reception of the ball that looked beyond reproach.

In a post-match interview after Diphatsa lost 2-3 to Ramotswa’s Spiking Stars, Diphatsa coach, Daniel Ngozi stacked praises on the 22-year-old stocky Zimbabwean for bringing shape to his side, which up to now has been a shadow of their former self.

“I am smiling as you can see,” said Ngozi when quizzed about his impressions about the display of his newest acquisition.

His diligence earned him a plethora of superlatives from his new coach who saw some high level of maturity in the Zimbabwean international and hence his acquisition. 

Ngozi is upbeat that the arrival of the sensational Bulawayo youngster would help his charges back to their fighting spirit that earned them an array of accolades in the past.

The arrival of the libero accords coach Ngozi an opportunity to hunt for a setter since his current setter was unreliable due to commitment to his studies.

Chindumbo did not only impress his coach, but the opposing Stars coach, Kealeboga Monakwane who observed that the presence of the Zimbabwean stabilised Diphatsa and tempered with his plans.

“Honestly, we didn’t expect the kind of Diphatsa we saw today because we know they have been our punching bag but, their libero stabilised their defence and allowed them to attack,” said Monakwane.

However, he rued his boys’ poor showing despite the win. He opined that they were lucky to have escaped unhurt at the hands of Diphatsa.

Spiking Stars stole the first set 27-25 before Diphatsa conjured a magical comeback to win the second set 26-24. Stars vanquished Diphatsa by 25-22 in the third set before the latter inflicted the same scoreline in the fourth set to take the game to a deciding set that Stars scooped by 15-12.

In another men’s game, Stars walloped Mag Stimela 3-1.

In the ladies games, Spiking Stars smothered innocuous Selibe Phikwe Volleyball Club (SVC) 3-0 before thumping Mag Stimela 3-1.  ENDS