VOLLEYBALL – TITLE hopefuls Dar Kulaib claimed a thrilling 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 32-30) win over defending champions Muharraq last night in the 2025-26 Isa Bin Rashid Bahrain Volleyball League.
Kenyan professional Enock Mogeni was in scintillating form for the victors, spearheading their attack to help Dar Kulaib stay perfect so far this season with 23 wins from as many outings and with the campaign headed down the home stretch.
Mogeni was ably assisted by his talented Bahrainis teammates, including Hasan Al Warqaa, Mahmoud Abdulwahed, Ali Mohammed Abdulnabi, Ali Habib, and Hasan Alaiwi, to name a few.
The game was played at Isa Bin Rashid Arena at Isa Sports City in Riffa, with a large crowd of fans supporting their respective clubs.
After Muharraq took set one, Dar Kulaib stepped it up from the second and put on a stunning comeback. Mogeni delivered the decisive point on a block-out to forge the 1-1 deadlock, and then Dar Kulaib rode their momentum into set three. There, an Al Warqaa smash gave them a 15-10 advantage, and then Hassan Abbas later pushed them to set point, which was gifted by Muharraq following an error.
That set the stage for a marathon fourth set, where Dar Kulaib appeared to be cruising to the victory after taking a 21-15 lead on an Abdulwahed spike. But Muharraq were resilient and roared back, tying the game at 24-all following a Sayed Hashem Issa block on Abdulnabi.
The two teams traded jabs from there, and a few rallies on, attacks from Muharraq’s Swedish import Jacob Link and Mogeni tied it at 30-apiece. A net fault by Muharraq’s Majeed Mohammed then put Dar Kulaib up by one, and then Alawi made a monster block on a Link effort to finally seal the contest.
The result put Dar Kulaib in prime position to capture this season’s crown as they improved to 67 points, leapfrogging Muharraq to solo first place on the table. Dar Kulaib still have three games to play and now own a two-point advantage against last year’s titlists, who only have two fixtures left.
In another league contest yesterday, Al Ahli cruised past Al Najma 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-16).
Ahli secured their 20th victory in 23 outings and improved to 62 points, whereas Najma suffered their 11th loss and stayed on 42 markers.
Like Dar Kulaib, Ahli still have three matches remaining and Najma have just one to go.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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