LABUAN — Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s (UMS) women’s volleyball team continued their dominance by clinching the title for the 13th consecutive edition of the 46th Malaysia Inter-University Staff Sports Championship (SUKUM) 2026 held at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Terengganu, from Aug 8 to 11.
UMS defeated Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) 3-2 in a closely fought final to retain the title, after overcoming Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) 3-0 in the semi-finals.
The UMS squad, competing against 13 other teams, topped Group A after defeating Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) 2-0 and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) 2-0.
In the quarter-finals, UMS edged Universiti Malaya (UM) 2-1 before securing a comfortable victory over UiTM in the semi-finals.
The team was managed by Molly Donna Awang Sham of UMS Kota Kinabalu Campus (UMSKK) and coached by Philiadiran Philip.
The winning squad comprised captain Karishah Sani of the UMSKK Sports Centre, Rozeyatie Ibrahim of the UMS Labuan International Campus (UMSKAL), Echristella Geordia Akup of the UMSKK Bursar’s Office, Stevie Evy Igantius of the Borneo Marine Research Institute, Norhanizah Adnan of UMSKAL Residential College and Tinyhanizam Kula of UMSKAL Library.
The other players were Norlida Che Yaacob of UMS Hospital, Mashila Nilus and Aevenna Petrus of the UMSKK Centre for Quality Assurance, Masturah Majid of the UMSKK Sports Centre, Rozana Abd Talip of the UMSKK Security Division and Nur Jannah Sapri of UMS Hospital.
The victory was attributed to the players’ high level of discipline and commitment, as well as continuous training leading up to the championship.
UMS Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Kasim Md Mansur congratulated and expressed his appreciation to all the players, coach and management team for the achievement.
He also thanked UMS Registrar Luqman Ridha Anwar and UMS Sports Centre director Ahmadi Nurdin for their continuous support and contributions towards the team’s success at SUKUM.
