LAHORE, March 15: Defending champions Pakistan Army outgunned Punjab in straight sets in the men’s national volleyball championship quarter-finals at the Wapda Sports Complex on Saturday.

The Army thrashed Punjab in 52 minutes with set scores of 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 to qualify for the last-four stage.

Besides the Army, Wapda, Police and NWFP were the other outfits reaching the semi-finals.

The Army team, with a perfect combination of experience and youth, made the best use of their chance which came across their way as Punjab offered some resistance in the opening set, narrowing the lead on some occasions till midway.

Army’s efforts to cut down rallies and then fighting back with unmatched service game were the dominating points of their game which helped them grab lead in all sessions of the play.

The outstanding players from the Army were Zaheer Abbas, Nadeem Ashraf and Mohammad Yasin while Nadim impressed from the Punjab side.

Meanwhile, Wapda, who have enjoyed an all-win performance in the tournament so far, claimed yet another victory defeating Pakistan Navy 3-0 in 75 minutes with set scores of 25-16, 30-28, 25-23.

Wapda’s brilliant performers were Irfan Nawaz, Farooq Khan and Zaheer Khan while Azhar and Mohammad Amir fared well for the Navy.

In the third quarter-final match Police came back strongly after losing the opening set to post a 3-1 win over Pakistan Air Force (PAF) 27-29, 25-13, 25-22, 25-20 in 67 minutes.

Main contributors from the Police were Mohammad Zaman and Mohib Rasool as Mohammad Ismail put in a good show from the PAF.

In the last quarter-final clash of the day NWFP consumed just 59 minutes to outclass POF Wah 3-0 with set scores 25-21, 25-19, 25-15.

Aamal Khan, Nasir Khan Jr and Waleed Khan helped NWFP maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament as the POF Wah failed to show consistency under pressure throughout the match.—Agencies