The 9th edition of the NVA Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Championship, which began on December 26, concludes on Saturday with the finalists vying for the title.

Help Nepal Sports Club and Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) entered the final in the men’s category after emerging victorious in their respective semifinal matches played at the Covered Hall of Dasharath Stadium on Friday.

Help Nepal defeated Nepal Police Club (NPC) with three consecutive sets (25-21, 25-23 and 25-22). Meanwhile, the other semifinal match between TAC and Rukum Paschim Training Centre was a neck-to-neck battle.

TAC won the first set (20-25) while Rukum Paschim bounced back in the second (25-23). Army won the third (25-15) and Rukum Paschim the fourth (24-26). The deciding set went in favour of the Army (15-12).

On the other hand, the Army women’s team could not achieve the same feat in their semifinal fixture. TAC’s chance for a final in both categories was foiled by the women’s team of NPC, whose men’s team was defeated by Help Nepal in the other category.

NPC claimed the first set easily (25-12) against TAC in the women’s category’s first semifinal on Friday. Army showed hope with a comeback in the second set as they won 31-29. However, in the third and fourth sets, NPC, who did not lose a single match in the group stage, asserted their dominance again with 25-14 and 25-18, respectively.

Nonetheless, the NPC’s dream to lift the title will not be fulfilled easily, as they have New Diamond Youth Sports Club as the opponent in the final. New Diamond also entered the final unbeaten after defeating APF in three consecutive sets (25-17, 25-20 and 25-7).

Coached by the great Kumar Rai and gotten stronger with the return of outside-hitter Pratibha Mali, New Diamond will be the favourites for the final. However, with spikers like Usha Bhandari, NPC cannot be ruled out yet, as the women’s final will be a match to watch.

Similarly, the final game in the men’s category will also be equally thrilling as the two unbeaten teams come face to face. Help Nepal and TAC have entered the final without losing a single match in the tournament.

With four unbeaten teams competing in the finals on Saturday, only two will keep their undefeated streak alive and walk away with the title in their respective categories.

The final match in the women’s category will begin at 1 pm, after the matches for the third and fourth-ranked teams in the women’s category—between APF and TAC at 9am—and the men’s category—NPC vs Rukum Paschim at 11am. Help Nepal vs TAC will be the last match of the tournament, beginning at 3:30pm.