By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Caribbean Gas Panthers closed out the year with an unblemished record in the New Providence Volleyball Association (NPVA) standings after defeating the Set-sy Poppers at the DW Davis Gymnasium last week Friday.

The Panthers added yet another victory to their win column to improve to an 8-0 win/loss record in the first half of the 2023-24 season. Meanwhile, the Poppers will move into the new year sporting an 0-7 record to remain winless in the night league.

The defending champions brought down the Poppers in four sets on Friday night. The Poppers showed some signs of life when they claimed the victory in set one 25-22.

However, the Panthers rebounded nicely in the second set, dominating their opponents 25-14. In the following set, the end result remained unchanged for the former title holders with them reeling off a 25-12 win in set three.

The final set (25-15) was no different as the Panthers nabbed three consecutives sets to seal their final win of 2023. On the season, the team has only dropped five sets in eight matches played.

The Panthers totalled 97 points compared to 66 points earned by the Poppers.

In game one of Friday’s double header, the Lady Spikers defeated the Lady Techs in comfortable fashion, taking three sets in a row. The former went basically uncontested as they dropped the Lady Techs 25-13, 25-20 and 25-13.The Lady Spikers ended the one hour and seven minute contest with 75 cumulative points compared to 46 turned in by the Lady Techs.

The victors head into the new year with a 7-2 record. Their only losses were handed out by the Panthers this year. Meanwhile, the Lady Techs fell to 1-7 in the NPVA standings.

The Panthers won the championship hardware for the women in 2019 and 2022.

For the men’s division, the Tour Daddy Defenders, the NPVA defending champions, have a league’s best 6-2 record. The Warhawks are one game behind with 5-2. The Technicians hold the next spot at 3-5 and the National Fence Intruders are 2-7 in nine games played.

The NPVA Night League games will resume in the new year following a hot start to the season.