By Sachit Subba • Volleyball • Sep 10, 2026 16:49 PM • 53 views
On Thursday, Annapurna secured their place in the final of the Nepal Volleyball League (NVL) by beating the Sagarmatha Smashers 3 to 1 in the NSC Covered Hall in Tripureshwor and ended the single round-robin stage in first position with 12 points.
Annapurna got off to a bad start. They lost the first set 21 to 25 and then soon recovered, taking the following three sets 25 to 23, 25 to 14, and 25 to 20. Enkh Erdene Jargaltsogt was responsible for the offensive recovery and received the Man of the Match award.
Annapurna achieved their fourth win in a row. Having suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Karnali in their first game, they won both their matches against Kathmandu Reds and Khaptad Falcons by 3-0 and also defeated Madhesh Warriors 3-1. Sagarmatha were eliminated from the tournament after three consecutive losses, even though they had won two of their matches earlier in the competition.
Karnali and Kathmandu Reds secured the other two places in the playoffs. Karnali beat Madhesh Warriors 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19), and Pahal Gahatraj was named Man of the Match for Karnali, which allowed his team to finish in second position in the standings with 11 points on the back of four wins and one loss.
In the five-set match against the Khaptad Falcons, the Kathmandu Reds managed to secure third place by earning 10 points. The two teams traded sets before Kathmandu won 19-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-19 and 15-13. Sunil Bohara was awarded the Man of the Match for his important performances in the final set.
Karnali and Kathmandu have their knockout playoff match on Friday, with the winner progressing to play against Annapurna in the championship game on Saturday.
The NVL is the first men's franchise volleyball league in Nepal and is organised by the Kedia Group with the support of the Nepal Volleyball Association; it has a total prize fund of a record NPR 3.2 million, which is the highest ever in the history of Nepali volleyball, and the champion will receive a cash prize of NPR 2 million.
