A few days after their closely-fought volleyball cup
semifinal that went to five sets, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos suffered 3-0 defeats in the league, allowing Iraklis to go alone on top of the A1 division. The Thessaloniki club defeated neighbouring Epikouros Polichnis 3-1 on Sunday (21-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-20) and opened a two-point gap at the top from Panathinaikos.
The Greens lost in straight sets at PAOK (25-20, 25-17, 25-20) on Monday, with the host team rising one point above Olympiakos, who are now in fourth.
The Reds suffered a shock 3-0 home loss to EA Patras on Saturday. Led by former Olympiakos players Vassilis Kournetas and Giorgos Stefanou, the Peloponnesian side won 29-27, 26-24, 26-24.
Aris, in seventh, returned from Kifissia with two points after winning 3-2 (25-18, 25-18, 17-25, 26-28, 16-14). This was the eighth straight league match for Kifissia that went to a tie-break.
In other matches on Saturday, Apollon Kalamarias stunned hosts Lamia 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 25-22) to edge closer to safety, Ethnikos Alexandroupolis practically ensured its A1 status beating Panellinios 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 32-34, 25-21).
Iraklis 3 Epikouros 1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-20)
Olympiakos 0 EA Patras 3 (27-29, 24-26, 24-26)
PAOK 3 Panathinaikos 0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-20)
Kifissia 2 Aris 3 (18-25, 18-25, 25-17, 28-26, 14-16)
Ethnikos Al 3 Panellinios 1 (25-23, 25-17, 32-34, 25-21)
Lamia 1 Apollon K. 3 (21-25, 25-23, 19-25, 22-25)
Standings (after 18 games): Iraklis 42, Panathinaikos 40, PAOK 38, Olympiakos 37, EA Patras 33, Lamia 29, Aris 26, Ethnikos A. 21, Kifissia 20, Apollon K. 17, Epikouros 12, Panellinios 6.
EA Patras and Kifissia have a game in hand.
In the women's league, Olympiakos scored a precious 3-1 win at Panathinaikos on Monday to leapfrog over its rival at the standings. The Reds are now one point clear at the top with five matches left to play.
