Muharraq Advance After Straight-Sets Win

Bahrain champions Muharraq booked their place in the knockout stages of the 44th Arab Club Men’s Volleyball Championship with a convincing straight-sets win over Palestinian Forces Club in Tunis, Tunisia. The Red Wolves were in control throughout, cruising to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-23) victory at the Salle de la Cité Sportive in Le Kram. It marked their second win of the preliminary round and concluded a gruelling run of five matches in as many days.

Yaseen Al Meel’s men imposed themselves early, dominating on serve and at the net to collect 37 points on serve compared to 16 for their opponents. Their aggression set the tone in the opening two sets, which they claimed comfortably. The third set offered stiffer resistance, but Muharraq showed composure down the stretch to regain control and close out the match 25-23.

The result capped a mixed preliminary campaign for Muharraq, who opened with a win over Majees SC of Oman before suffering consecutive defeats to Al Ittihad SCSC Tripoli of Libya and hosts Etoile Sportive du Sahel. Those losses briefly put their tournament hopes in jeopardy, but Muharraq responded emphatically with successive victories over Police SC of Qatar and Palestinian Forces Club to secure progression.

The victory saw Muharraq finish third in Group B, setting up a quarter-final clash against the second-placed team from Group A. All teams will observe a rest day today, with the knockout stages resuming on Wednesday and the tournament set to conclude on January 18.