Devils beat EG2

Devils played EG2 at Michael's Hall (really nice venue, although rather too hot, must be used to the Arctic conditions of WHS). Em and Agi were our dynamic middle pairing, Chantelle and Katie Lay through the outside and Mel and Robyn were setter and opposite, with Brinee on baby sitting duties with young Dylan, for the first two sets. The first set started pretty evenly with both teams getting used to the limited serving space, and probing for weaknesses. The turning point was Em's serve at 8-8 to give Worthing a strong lead 18-8, with Chantelle and Agi hitting well front court and Katie, Robyn and Em covering well and getting good passes in, which meant we could open the middle. EG fought back with the traditional Vanya specials and some nice hitting by Cate! The second set stayed close throughout with Devils just winning 25-21 although Katie stepped up in this set, getting further out on her approach and mixed her hitting up with power hits to line and cross court with the odd tip thrown in to keep EG on their toes! You could tell Agi was back as we had missed the footvolley in her absence! Chantelle took over the entertainment of Dylan in the third set, so Em moved to the outside. The early points were traded with mother and daughter Hands working well together and picking up points. As always Brinee did well with a massive block and clever hitting around EG's block. Another run of points off the Churcher serve closed out the match with a mix of deep serves to one and five and cheeky shorts. Unfortunately Em couldn't have the MVP as she was playing up, but Chantelle was a deserved second option and Vanya for the serving, cover and nice setting got it for EG. Match report from Dan and check out the Video from Andy. http://youtu.be/PVdzfvO3WxI

Devils win the league again!

Devils win the league with a 3-2 win against a stronger than usual Freedom team with some great play.., Andreea put in a good performance in her first game for the club and all the players stepping up did fantastically well, with solid serving and defence! Em (not bad for her first game back after five months and a baby) and captain Brinee lead the charge with the power hitting, although everyone had a go! It was a shame time ran out when they were losing in the fourth as they were coming back.. It would have been interesting to see how that set turned out! Also a shame for Pirates as they were looking good and had earnt the 2-1 lead battling through out! Congratulations to the Devils in a season that has seen them supplement a strong core of regular Devils with guest appearances from the Demons and Angels. Well done to Dan for his coaching and organisational skills and another awesome result for the club. Focus now moves to our Ladies NVL team that have a crucial fixture next week. Please try and make it along to give them the support they deserve trying to secure back to back promotions!

Weekend round up

Sharks fought hard with two ladies helping out for the first time this season, but lost to a ever improving Brighton team. MVP Kish

Angels though notched up their first win (hopefully of many) 3-0, with both Tayna and Sylwia playing well. MVP Em

Devils also won 3-0 at home to EG2 who also are improving each time we play them, helped by having Elaine there to guide them and take control in the moments they got pulled out of shape. MVP Sintija

Devils play an improving EG2

Devils took on EG2 missing Amy and Em (playing with Angels).  The team set up with Brinne and Chantelle through four, Agi and Gem in the middle and Sintija and Mel in there usual spots.

Simon had stepped up to coach EG2 and managed to get a team together roping in Lou and Elaine from the first team and sweet talking others to play.  Sintija always the thoughtful host captain gave the serve to the opposition.  A tentative start from both teams saw EG get the better of the early passage of play with Elaine and Simon organising and encouraging the team.  The game turned on Chantelle’s serving supported by Brinee finding the line and Sintija covering big areas of the court encouraging the team to pick up the level of their performance.  Those 7 points pulled Devils back into the game and the young EG team looked a little nervous.  A big hit from Lou encouraged them but wasn't enough to get them back into the game, with Gemma’s sneaky serve picking up runs of points and the set finished 25-16.

The same Devils team started set 2 and again traded points at the start of the game, a rested Agi though tested her shoulder out and picked up 8 points many ace’s to give Devils a 14-6 lead which looked insurmountable for EG2.  Good spells setting and serving from their 49 made the game interesting and although a come back wasn’t on the cards EG played nice volleyball and smiled throughout (except when facing Sintija’s serve when it was more of a grimace).  Tree’s came on to set for the second half of the set, although it took awhile to get used to getting in quickly the setting its self looked good! 25–14 was the final score.

In the third set Sintija and Trees shared the setting and Katie Lay started through the outside after joining us halfway through the second set (just back from beating Brighton Pitates 3-0), although Devils started well building a 8-2 lead EG came back though Elaine’s serving and better first balls in which enable their front court of Faber, Popova and Treween to run a more effective attack.  Devils remained strong and saw the set and game out 25-19 

MVP’s went to Sintija

Devils struggle against a injury prone EG!

A trip to EG isn’t the same without someone getting lost, a couple of minor detours for team Churcher meant that Chantelle et al had been waiting a while and were mid warm up by the time they turned up.  While Agi was still no-where to be seen, the locals were learning new Polish swear words and her new sat-nav was in danger of being thrown out the widow!

Worthing had a small but strong squad with Chantelle, Trees, Brinee, Agi, Mel, Sintija and Em.  EG1 on the other hand had a team assembled on the day registering players, playing players up and players missing or playing with injuries!

A up-beat Devils started well with Agi and Sintija serving deep and putting EG under pressure from the start.  A good first ball in and setting meant that Worthing sided out first time for the first five servers until Paulina stepped up and served 5 on the trot bringing EG back to 10-15.  Sintija not wanting to be outperformed took up the challenge and served the next 7 points supported by good hitting from Trees and Agi.  This was a fairly comfortable set (25-16) and the game looked like it would be a quick 3-0 and drive down to the Market Dinner to meet Vipers for a fry up to celebrate a double win.

However EG1 came out like a different team in the second set, the early nervous and communication issues miraculously disappeared, while Devils looked a little complaisant making numerous serve errors and gave easy points away.  A Brinee dive early on showed how committed and determined to win they were, but EG never let a ball hit the floor with fantastic cover all round.  Brinee's dive was matched and exceeded by Mandy's pancake which turned the momentum towards EG and you could see the tension get to a couple of Devils as hitting errors started to creep in at the end of the set, which finished 25-21.

Set three saw Devils come out fighting and again Sintija's bullet serving gave Devils a strong start 6-3 and they kept that lead through the set up to 11-15, until they got stuck on a rotation with Vanya serving, supported by Paulina hitting well through four which turned the game in EG flavour 19 -15.  Strong hitting from Chantelle kept Worthing in the set and the referee did well controlling the game as the tension cranked up at 24-24, with Anna  picking up what looked like a sure winner from Chantelle and EG then got the rub of the green with the net being kind to them to win the set 26-24 after some great play from both teams.

Captain Sintija rallied the troops and while there were some early serve errors from both teams, Mel stepped up and with controlled serves deep to five and a strong attacking line at the net Worthing built a lead.  Two stuff blocks from Brinee along with a couple of screamers one from Brinee and the other from Sintija that even the solid defence of EG couldn't get hands too edged it as Devils got into full swing winning 25-15.

Devils looked more relaxed and were keen to start the final set after winning the fourth. Emma came on to give another strong serve in the short set and another calm head on court (cough cough), while Agi made more noise off court than all the players and supporters combined!  Again this was a competitive set with good play from both teams. Devils started strong with Brinee serving well and built a four point lead from the start, but good cover by Vanya and Paulina kept EG in the game and a stuff block by Louise had Worthing on the back foot for a moment before Mel again helped them compose themselves with her consistent serve and back court setting to finish strong 15-11.

Considering the makeshift/injury heavy team this was a great performance by EG and goes to show how good the Sussex Volleyball League is - both teams will be looking to prove a point in the rematch!

A tired Devils take on Teela

After a tough five setter it was back to the high school to officiate another five setter Sharks against Llamdos, with Sharks improving every time they play.  It was great to see the same six players for two games on the trot and Ben being able to make it gave them a squad, although being thrown in at opposite was a big challenge for him!  Another good performance to push an experienced Llamdos so far and MVP to Kish.

Devils happily had Agi join them for this game although Gem couldn't leave Todd this time.  They started with Chantelle and Amy through four, Brinee and Agi in the middle and the usual Mel and Sintija as setter and opposite.  A slower paced game let Devils run the combinations and Mel and Sintija worked well running the cross over again once Agi had got over her surprise!  (Although watching the middle run away from the set was rather amusing in the second set - Trees!)  A comfortable 25 - 12 with Sabrina picking up 11 points from her serve and terrorising the players covering at five.

Set two saw Brinee move to four with Amy, Trees played through the middle and Agi, Mel and Sintija stayed as before.  The move to four didn't affect Brinee's serving as she continued to rain power serves down on Teela and Sintija joined in on the action.  A knee slide dive early in the set from Agi showed the commitment and determination from Devils to push on from their strong start and back court Agi was covering well picking up the tips well.  Sintija enjoyed a couple of screamers from back court.

In the third and final set Devils set up the same as in the second, with Chantelle coming on for Trees through the middle for part of the set.  Again the Brinee serve caused problems for Teela's serve receive giving the Devils a 9-0 lead.  Consistent line hitting from Sintija and Brinee worked well and a big middle hit from Chantelle finished off the game and set 25-12, 25-17 and 25-11.

MVP didn't surprise anyone - Well done Brinee although don't be so quick to step out of the pass!

Angels v Devils

Angel's opening game of the season was always going to be a challenge trying to gel six players and get the rotations right after just a few hours of training is an impossible task, added to that they were playing the winners of the league - Devils (and they certainly didn't want to lose to a team from their own club!)

Angels look to have lost Cleo, so Sandrine stepped into set with Sylwia opposite, Em and Katie through the outside and Aly and Tanya middle.

The Devils were at full strength except for Em, with the pleasant surprise of Gemma making it down for the game! The coach showed no mercy and threw her straight into the game, meaning the Farley's kept each other company on the bench.

The opening points were tit-for-tat with both teams starting strongly and the Devils caught a bit on the back foot from the fight from the Angels! Mark would have been pleased as both teams served well with no errors.  It wasn't until 7-7 when the Devils started to open up a points gap, with the consistent strong hits dragging Angels all over the court.  Although Tanya did a terrific job covering the lines the combined hitting through 2 and 4 slowly put Devils in front.  Emma enjoyed being part of the serve receive for a change passing in good balls for Sandrine to set, which Katie, Sylwia and Aly took advantage of. Angels finished strong and Katie even cracked a smile (rare for any Lay) after a couple of power hits from four!  Army's consistent hitting got Devils out of tricky situations a couple of times following shanks from hits by Sylwia and Aly.

The second set saw Brinee come on through the outside for Amy.  Strong runs of serve early in the set by Chantelle and Agi gave the Devils a big 10 point gap, but a good time out from the Angels coach saw them settle and refocus coming back with good front court play from Sylwia, Tanya and Katie.  Sintija and Mel started to link up well and a better first ball in meant they could run a cross over successfully - Training paying off! Brinee enjoyed playing through four and put some big hits over and Agi for the second game in a row was dominant front court, but they didn't have it all there own way and there were numerous points when they had to scrabble the ball back following hits from Tanya and Katie. They even forced the first pancake of the year from Amy (on for Chantelle) whoop whoop!

Trees came on for Gemma in the final set and Amy was back on for Brinee. Angels came out all guns blazing in the third set determined not to give away early strings of points on serve receive and they didn't, keeping the game very close until Trees stepped up to serve five points in a row, mainly due to communication issues as the first ball in was generally pretty good and with the height in the Angels they will challenge a lot of teams. It was good to see Chantelle run a 'b' run on for the last point of the game!  The final score was 25-16, 25-14, 25-14.

If Angels play like that every week we will see some upsets and possibly a challenger to Mickey for 'most passionate coach!'

Well played Sintija a well deserved MVP it was great to see you applying the training in a game and thanks for bringing the 'Mafia' It was a tough call for Angels MVP everyone played so well with both Tanya, Sylwia and Katie all nominated by various members of Devils! In the end Tanya was chosen - congratulations!