ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: Army scored their second successive victory in the 37th Royals National Volleyball Championship as they swept aside UGC in straight sets at the Liaquat Gymnasium Wednesday, the second day of competition.

The Armymen did not have to make much of an effort for a 25- 19, 25-12, 25-15 win, unlike Tuesday when Navy nearly took a set off them and made them sweat.

Naveed Iqbal and Naeem dazzled for the Army team who dominated play most of the time, except for the first set in which the UGC boys fought really hard with Hazrat Islam, Muhammad Yousaf and Bashir Ahmed the prominent players.

In other matches Navy clinched their first win of the championship with a 25-17, 25-12, 25-21 rout of babes PTCL, POF Wah defeated Pakistan Boards 25-7, 25-16, 25-7 and PAF battered Balochistan 25-4, 25-7, 25-5. In two other games, NWFP beat AJK 25-20, 25-17, 25-18 and Punjab defeated Sindh 25-16, 25-15, 25-19 as the day’s action came to an end.

Navy, who had lost to Army on the opening day, gained what was an easy victory over PTCL, who are in the early stages of team formation. It was no surprise then that they became easy prey for their rivals for whom Azhar Mahmood, Azam and Altaf dazzled while Anwar Khan, Iftikhar and Shaukat did well for the losers.

While it was a cakewalk for Navy, Punjab found the going tough in their game against Sindh, who were playing their second match in the week-long championship.

Sindh, beaten 3-0 by Wapda Tuesday fought well but were unable to prevent their opponents scoring their maiden victory which was made possible by Ali Sajjad, Imtiaz and Zulfiqar. The trio combined well to thwart Sindh who were helped in their efforts by brothers Azhar and Mazhar.

In what was a one-sided match, POF flogged Pakistan Boards for their second win in two days after a 3-0 hammering of Balochistan on the opening day.

Only in the second set did POF face a bit of resistance from the Board lads but their efforts were not enough and they crashed in the face of excellent play from Tariq, Sajjad and Aslam.

It was again one-way traffic as PAF trounced Balochistan who did not seem to have an answer to the fine skills of their rivals.

Samiullah and Ilyas Khan were the outstanding players for NWFP in their victory over AJK. It was NWFP’s opening match as they were not on show on the first day of the championship.

On Thursday, another six matches will be played which will see title-holders Wapda meeting Punjab, Army taking on PTCL, Navy facing UGC and Pakistan Boards playing Balochistan. In the latter part of the day, NWFP will challenge the might of Police, who are among the title favourites and PAF clashing with POF.

The championship, which is due to end on Nov 5, is now gaining momentum with the quarter-finals slated for Nov 2 and 3 and the semifinals to be contested the following day.

Results:

Group A: Punjab bt Sindh 25-16, 25-15, 25-19.

Group B: Army bt UGC 25-19, 25-12, 25-15; Navy bt PTCL 25-17, 25- 12, 25-21

Group C: NWFP bt AJK 25-20, 25-17, 25-18.

Group D: POF bt Pakistan Boards 25-7, 25-16, 25-7; PAF bt Balochistan 25-4, 25-7, 25-5.