The men’s teams of Tip Top Help Nepal and Nepal Police Club (NPC) inched closer to the final of the Prime Minister Cup NVA National Club League Volleyball Championships with victories on Thursday at the National Sports Council’s covered hall in Tripureshwar.

Help Nepal registered a dramatic 3-2 set win over Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) Club, while Police registered a crushing third set victory over Tribhuvan Army Club.

Help Nepal won the first two sets with scores of 27-25, 25-17, but APF bounced back to claim the third and fourth sets 25-21, 25-23. APF even came close to winning the fifth and decisive set with the score reading 14-11 in favour of the departmental team. But Help Nepal held their nerve and added five consecutive points to claim the decisive set 16-14.

The fifth victory in a row puts Help Nepal on top of the team standings with 13 points from five games. They had registered straight sets wins in the first three games and shared points with APF on Wednesday after a 3-2 sets victory. APF are third in the standings on 11 points.

In another match, Police snapped Army’s winning run in their fifth game with a straight sets win 25-21, 28-26, 25-14. Police climbed to second place in the standings on 12 points following four wins and a defeat. They were defeated 3-2 in sets by Help Nepal. Army has 11 points, but they are behind APF in fourth position, despite equal points due to points ratio.

The women’s fixture saw departmental sides Army and APF secure victories in straight sets. The one-sided match saw Army edge out Everest Volleyball Club with scores of 25-12, 25-19, 25-19. APF saw off New Diamond’s challenge 25-19, 25-18, 25-12.

Police, who lead the standings with 12 points from four games, entered the final with a match in hand. They are scheduled to play with New Diamond in their last league game on Friday. APF are placed second on 11 points from five games while New Diamond are third on eight points. Army are behind them on five points, Gandaki on three points and Everest with zero points in the team standings. Army and Gandaki, who are scheduled to play in their last league game on Friday, are already out of the race for the final.

The top two teams after round robin league in each category will earn a ticket for finals.