By Themba Nyovane 15 July 2022

2022 USSA Champs celebration

AmaVUTi Teams are the University Sport South Africa (USSA) 2022 indoor Volleyball Champions following an incredible win and spectacular performance of both Ladies and Men teams on the 8th of July 2022.

The USSA tournament commenced in Cape Town, hosted by the University of Cape Town (UCT), on the 4th of July 2022.

Ms Marissa Langeni, USSA Chief Executive Officer delivered the opening address.  In her introduction, she stated that “University Sport (USSA) always represents opportunities, and I hope that every athlete here sees what that opportunity is”.

The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) is currently the powerhouse volleyball in the country for universities, and the ladies defended their title after an accelerating performance against University of the Western Cape (UWC) (Bellville ladies), winning the final with 3-0, while Men’s team also whipped out Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) with 3-0.

Being the USSA 2022 champions involved a lot of work and activities, which players in both teams of Volleyball mostly embraced. The VUT institution also managed to scope out most of the individual trophies:

Best blocker Men – Lehlohonolo Pheko

Best Attacker Ladies- Ntswaki Maloisane

Best Setter Men- Ntando Shandu

Teboho Mofokeng Trophy MVP; Baholo Mokhomo Men and Makhosazana Dlamini Ladies

In selecting USSA teams, five ladies and six men from the last team will compete at the CUCSA games in Malawi between the month of August and September 2022. Coaches were impressed by the level of performance, which was up to the grade expected. However, the coaches mentioned that the standards are still  work in progress. Also, understanding both genders needs a different approach, explaining the strategies of both genders, keeping the team together and building team cohesion.

Both Mr Rabi (men’s coach) and Mr Thekiso (ladies coach) stated that “as a team, we continue to do our best and remain firm for the current competition, the Aquadarshan Premier League.  This is one of the leagues that strengthen our competition and give us plenty time to prepare both teams.”

“Being the powerhouse of Volleyball in the country for universities means double effort in preparation. We’ll recruit young players within our institution to participate in tournaments while channelling space for senior players to compete at the club level,” said the coaches.

Both teams qualified for Volleyball South Africa (VSA) TOP 8, which will be held in Durban soon and Zone 6 Club Champs in December 2022.