Malory Eagles remain at the top of volleyball’s first division following a straight-sets win at fourth-placed Coventry & Warwick Riga.

Returning from injury, Mark Brown was joined in the starting line-up by Richard Dobell, Alex Bialokoz, Marc Richardson, Darius Setsoafia and Luciano Pinter. With libero Stephen Fee unavailable, Malory’s defence would be tested by the experienced Coventry side.

Set one started comfortably for the league leaders as they chalked up the first four points. Riga fought to stay in range, matching the Londoners with powerful attacks from Dutchman Kees De Hoogh.

Determined to assert his team’s superiority, coach Jefferson Williams finished the set with a flourish. In a double substitution, he replaced Pinter and Dobell with Trodden and Cooper to strengthen his attack. The teams traded points but Malory took the set 25-22.

Williams returned to his original line-up for set two and, again, Malory opened the scoring.

Riga showed why they remain contenders this year with continued power attacks from De Hoogh and excellent all-round defensive work.

Not to be outdone, play-maker Dobell helped young Richardson fully exploit his offensive power and continually notch up points for the visitors. Though closer, Eagles took the set, 27-25.

Set three started well for Malory, with an excellent serving run by Setsoafia backed by the strong front row of Bialokoz, Dobell and Richardson.

A tiring Riga resisted but could not hold back Malory’s relentless attack. The inevitable result came after 18 minutes with Malory holding Coventry under 20.

Meanwhile, second-placed Sheffield were in London to play Polonia. Winning by a narrow 3-2 margin, Sheffield were severely tested with the final set only being won at 19-17.

Although Sheffield have the same points score as Malory, the Eagles have widened their set advantage.

This weekend sees Malory play division two Wessex at home in the Cup quarter-finals.