Al-Ameen College, Bangalore, warded off a late challenge from NSAM College, Yelahanka, to top Group ‘A’ in the State-level inter-collegiate volleyball tournament at the Sree Kanteerava stadium outdoor courts here.

Al-Ameen scored a 25-9, 28-26 victory on Wednesday. With both the teams having made it to the knockout stage with two wins apiece, a cracker of a contest was expected. But Al-Ameen were too good for their opponents and finished with an all-win record in the four-team group.

After a slow start, Al-Ameen opened up a big lead. Their attackers ran the NSAM defence ragged, while their blockers — Nagesh and Sunil — did a splendid job at the net.

The first set was over in double quick time. Barring Anup, rest of the players were found wanting in the second set. The complacent team also committed far too many errors to allow NSAM back into the match.

Al-Ameen, up 22-19, were expected to complete the formalities. But NSAM, led by a spirited performance by captain Srikanth, had other plans.

They saved two match points to level the scores at 24-all, but a brilliant drop by Maruthi gave Al-Ameen another match point. NSAM fought hard at this stage and warded off two more match points, but Al-Ameen settled the matter before much damage could be done.

Results:  St Joseph’s College of Commerce bt Vijaya College 25-17, 25-12; Alvas bt Kumaran’s 25-7, 25-16; Al-Ameen bt NSAM 25-9, 28-26; SRN Adarsha bt Sambram 25-18, 21-25, 25-19; Alvas bt St Joseph’s Arts College 25-22, 25-20.