NCD lose to Macau but crush NT 3-0

By LUCY KAPI in Darwin
TEAM NCD began their Arafura Games volleyball campaign on a mixed note yesterday.
The capital city boys lost to Chinese Macau 1-3 in their opening match at the Marrara indoor complex.
The boys won the first set but an injury to spiker Richard Kila Rupa saw him take the bench for the rest of the game which left the team without their most experienced player.
The injury came about after a Macau player collided with Rupa after a spike.
NCD led by captain Loi Walo regrouped  and pushed Macau throughout but could not hold their nerve goingdown by two sets.
However, in their second match against Northern Territory of Australia, the boys regained their confidence and bounced back into the competition winning 3-0.
This time a fully recovered Rupa got back onto the court and played a key role with his raking spikes and steadying presence at the front of the net.
It was the Rupa, Walo and Jeffrey Fu combination of power hitting and effective blocking with the help of Ishmael Hareho, setter John Soi and Rupa’s younger brother Veleke that saw NCD thrash NT .
“We are glad that the boys bounced back into the second game after losing to Macau in the first,” team manager Victor Lakae said.
“The boys came together, corrected their mistakes and played well in the second match winning with a good margin.
“We hope to maintain the same intensity and finishing in our game for the rest of our matches,” he said.
The NCD women’s volleyball team were expected to take on Northern Territory yesterday afternoon.
Today’s matches will see NCD men’s team take on South Australia in the morning and later in the afternoon play Torres Strait Islands with the NCD women to taking on South Australia also in this afternoon.