Showing posts with label LadiesNVL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LadiesNVL. Show all posts

Wednesday 29 April 2015

Worthing Ladies NVL AGM Awards

After an awesome season that saw our ladies crowned champions of NVL Div2 South it was time for some awards at last night's AGM.

- Chantelle picked up Player of the season.
- Dan picked up some beers and a new "Coach" hoodie.
- The team picked up individual league winners medals and the championship trophy.
- The great support the team have received was recognised with some "super fan" awards!

An awesome season and well done to all players, coach, session coach and supporters!

Saturday 11 April 2015

That's the way we like it!

Worthing ladies volleyball have won NVL Div2 South by beating Bath 3-1. An awesome result with Emma having to replace an injured Brinee and go on to pick up MVP in her first game back! That's back to back promotions as champions for the Worthing ladies volleyball team who only formed last season. Great support today and all season at home and away games from family and friends. Winning the league has been down to the players and people that support them on and off the court including those that played today and throughout the season. Everyone has played a part including those that have missed the second half of the season through injury, but still come along to support their team. Well done to Dan who has been their coach from the start and for Mark who has given up his time to coach them at excellent training sessions all year. Special thanks to Emma who was the driving force to start the NVL journey and it was fitting that she completed her come back to take MVP in her first match back. We all hope Brinee recovers quickly from her injury and good luck in your final match when you can all relax and play as champions. Well done to all. Awesome result and what a season.

Tuesday 31 March 2015

epic 5 setter!

The last National League weekend for 2014 and for a change Worthing were at home against Devon and Reading. Unfortunately the Devon game was cancelled as they had a number of players at South West training.

Mel was missing, lapping up the sun shine in Thailand and with the trio of pregnant/new mums out we were down to Cait and Brinee through the middle, Chantelle and Trees outside and Sintija and Paulina opposite and setter.  The good new was Tracy's shoulder was on the mend and she was able to play giving us options and cover and we had a great crowd making plenty of noise...would you expect anything else with Latvians, Craig and Em all in the mix! 

The first set started well with the team's trading points and for a change Worthing started brightly with Cait making a big stuff block and Trees mixing dumps into the hole and a couple of big hits. Although the cover started a little slow it picked up as the set went on and the energy was high on court with Paulina mixing the sets well, utilising all the options and linking with Brinee to run a quick attack through the middle.  Strong serving from Brinee at 9-9 gave Worthing a lead of 5 points and with good balls in and strong attacks Worthing sided out first time consecutively 5 times to go 21-15 up.  A lapse in concentration let Reading back into the game and they were serving at 22-24 when they served into the net following a time out to give Worthing the lead.

Set two started with the same 6 starting for Worthing.  Reading started strong with a good serve from their number 8 causing issues with the experienced Worthing serve receive.  A change in receive personnel and a time out didn't help but a cheeky second ball over from Paulina disrupted Readings rhythm and although it was scrambled back it was a free ball and Sintija put a screamer down the line that Reading couldn't touch, bringing the score to 3-7.  Reading were playing well hitting the line through opposite and their libero was picking up hits Worthing were celebrating taking them to 13-7. Tree's consistent serving picked up 6 points to bring Worthing back into the game, helped by a strong front court of Brinee, Sintija and Chantelle to take it to 14-12. Points were again traded until at 19-21 up Chantelle hot two clean winners down the line to give Worthing the momentum to finish 25-19!

In the third set Tracy came on for Paulina making her debut for Worthing.  A good start gave Worthing a 4-2 lead but again got stuck on a service rotation and letting Reading go 4-8 up and heads dropped.  Reading stepped up their game hitting and serving well stray first balls and a lack of communication meant Tracy was being dragged all over the court and at 9-20 it was looking very flat on court. A late rally inspired by Tracy getting a clean second all over into the hole and setting intelligently saw Worthing get 9 points to Readings 5 and go into the fourth set keen to finish the game.

The set started well with Tracy finding Chantelle and Sintija and getting a nice run of points. The number 7 serve from Reading again caused problems, earning 8points and with the first ball again deteriorating Paulina came on to set at 6-11. A spirited fight back saw Worthing closing the gap all the time and got to 18-18 when again the number 7 picked up 4 points and while every point was chased down the set finished 23-25.

Set 5 this years speciality and Worthing were keen to start well with lots of noise from the crowd and everyone wanting to get on court and finish strong. Unfortunately so were Reading and with the number 7 serving well and 10 hitting line through opposite reading were 4-0 up a time out broke that serve but Reading had the momentum and were 8-2 up at the change of ends. When they picked up a yellow for time wasting as they stopped for drinks. Worthing kept scrapping for points and again Cait pulled off a stuff block though middle but at 14-9 things were not looking good! Happily Chantelle was serving who has saved the team a number of times keeping her head under pressure and brought us back to 14-13 when Reading asked for a time out having already had two that set. A red card gave Worthing a point and it was now a battle of wills after two hours of volleyball who would break first? Reading came straight back with a big hit but served out, this happened three times 17-17 but Worthing couldn't capitalise on the mistakes. 18-17 to Reading and it looked all over a big hit between the block Sintija couldn't make it and Chantelle missed it! But it landed on her foot! Sintija dived to retrieve the ball bashing her head and seeing stars but got it up and the ball was put away to level the scores again! Paulina set out to Trees at 2 who killed it and needing one point the ball this time went to Brinee who did the same! 21-19 and another five setter lasting over 2 hours!

MVP Chantelle, but everyone played out of their skins!  Best post match tea yet topped off by an amazing cake! 

A big thank you to the supporters and even more so to Kish, Matt and Alessandra for officiating!

Monday 16 March 2015

Results Update

A quick update on Sunday's games as follows:-

Jets missed Dan's organisational skills and managed to turn up late for their match against Brighton Jags and with the home team applying the letter of the law they started the game 2-0 down! A good performance without a warm up saw them get to 17 points before losing 3-0. MVP was Matt Lay.

Angels played Demons with a new setter and a spirited performance saw them score at least 18 points in each set. They are improving with every match and now have enough players to mix things up despite missing both Emma and Amy.

Vipers played a scratch Storrington team who battled hard, but finally a closed out a tighter third set to take the game 3-0 and move ever closer to the final two games of the season against Crawley and Brighton Jaguars which will decide a very close season. Crawley remain firm favourites for the title having only lost one match (to the Jets) and Brighton Jag's have only lost two games (both against Crawley), but Vipers have to play them both. Wins for the Vipers against Storrington, Crawley and Brighton Jag's would mean getting out the calculators to see who would win on sets difference etc, but there is a long way to go before we need to worry about that!

Worthing ladies NVL team won one and lost one at the weekend, but winning the league is still in their own hands and they just need to win the last two games to secure back to back championships and promotions! Keep an eye on our Facebook site for match reports from Dan.

If anyone wants to provide more details on any of these games or indeed any others before the end of the season you only need to email ,me the report and any pictures and I will get them loaded!

Saturday 3 January 2015

New year - Same old Worthing....mammoth 5 setter

It was a disjointed warm up due to Dulwich not being there.  Worthing warmed up as usual not knowing to expect them imminently or if they wouldn't be there at all. Happily they arrived and while all the players were there and on court for the match start time as they weren't in kit and warmed up properly the officials agreed to start the match 20 mins later.  The Worthing team was pretty much the same team that played Dulwich away on the first game of the season (Em, Brinee, Chantelle, Trees, Sintija, Mel and Tracy) with Em and bump sitting this one out and Gem stepping in (thanks Gem and hope Todd didn't miss his feed!) and Tracy being available to play this time rather than being bench personnel. 

Once the match started Worthing came out strong not wanting to give Dulwich a two set lead like last time! Brinee had her serving shoes on or Asic Gel Sensi 5's, as they are otherwise known!  Serving 8 points, mixing her classic power float with a sneaky short to keep the opposition on their toes.  This took Worthing to 11-3 and they never looked liked losing from here.  Gemma got in on the serving action with a nice run of 6 points.  The consistent strong serving from Worthing stopped the middle being opened up by Dulwich and with good first balls in both Mel and Tracy had fun picking their sets and seeing the power hits picking up points. The set finished 25-16.




The second set start the same way, but this time Dulwich rallied early and levelled the scores 6-6 before a spell of strong serving in conjunction with a wobble with Worthing's serve receive saw 6 points dropped in one serve receive 8-16 Dulwich. Chantelle's serving backed by a strong front court of the Farley's gave Worthing a glimmer of hope and when Brinee stuffed blocked a massive hit at 11-16 you could see the spring in Worthing's step was back.  Again the new serving trainers continued to work their magic and Brinee got Worthing 4 points and a little closer 15-17.  Then the cripple stepped up to serve a combination of good serves, and great cover back court from Trees with power hits from Brinee front court and Chantelle mixing clever cuts with rolls into the corner meant that Worthing levelled the scores and then pushed on to take a marginal lead 23-21.  The calm head of Sintija saw the set out with a strong serve into the corner and a shank into the wall meant Worthing won 25-23.

In the third set the teams traded points with either team getting more than two points ahead of the other, both teams stepped up their game and the standard of hitting and cover back court lead to some great rallies.  At 16-18 Dulwich's setter served and with a strong front court they made the points they needed, while Brinee made a great pick up back court covering the tip to four the power hit that followed to five got them the point and the next couple taking Tuskers to 22-16 and in the end the set 25-19.

A strong start from Dulwich/a poor start from Worthing in the fourth again saw the basic communication lapse and the whole team looked nervous on court and not at all like the un-defeated leaders and champions of the five setter that they are!!  For periods they played well with Trees using the angles well and Brinee dominating the net.  Sintija as always made so much noise my throat was sore in sympathy, as well as picking off some big points at stages of the game. Chantelle and Gemma quietly got on with business, covering and blocking well and both Tracy and Mel used the pass in wisely with Tracy picking up points with a cheeky second ball over but in the end Dulwich earnt the set 25-15.

So we entered Worthing's 2014-15 trademark, the lottery of the fifth set!  Dulwich again started well and before Worthing got going it was 2-6 to Dulwich.  At 7-10 down Sintija fires in an ace and on her second serve while the number 2 player tried to avoid it, the ball dipped and caught her full in the face... happily she bounced straight back and was good to carry on! So was Sintija and the next ball went to the same area and brought the score to 11-11 and then it was 13-13! Dulwich won the point and served for the game and a text book pass and set from Brinee and Mel meant all the hard work was done and Trees didn't miss her line putting away a screamer.  Strangely enough the next two sets went her way and so did the final two points! 16-14 Worthing! 

A great result for the first game of the new year and especially as there hasn't been any training for a month or so! A tough first game in a while for Gemma and also for Tracy who's slowly getting back her match fittness after being out for most of the season. It was also good to see Brinee working so hard back court and getting consistent good balls in to the setter and covering the tip to 4!  A massive thank you to the supporters, I don't think we would have got through the fifth set as winners with out you! It was great to see a few of the EG crew as well as Dom, Robyn (their mum) and Katy, along with the regular Latvian's, Farley's and Chantelle's mum and Craig the ever present!

Also a special thanks to Kish, Em, Kathy, Amelia, Nigel and Elise for officiating! 

Devon up next in a couple of weeks!!

Saturday 25 October 2014

An epic 5 set battle!

I haven't even started writing this match report but have a feeling that i could waffle on due to the nature and length of the match, an epic 2 hours 15 mins.  You have my since apologies if this is the case! Also I tend to forget to include the MVP so in case I do it was Paulina - well played! 

Two cars travelled up to Essex to spend the day in a cold and dusty sports hall while the sun was shining outside.  The journey up was pretty uneventful with only the cry of "eww hummus" as Chantelle spattered herself, which amused the rest of the car.  Both cars arrive simultaneously and with an hour to spare, so spent the time chillin' in the sun munching on M&S goodies.  Mel took a little trip, years of practice with glasses of wine showed as she didn't spill a drop of her coffee although had scrapes all up her arm and bruised her knee! Not the most auspicious of starts for our setter!

Set one had the Farley's through the middle, Paulina and Chantelle outside and Sintija and Mel opposite and setter.  A few errors from Worthing saw them give momentum and an early lead to Essex.  Paulina struggled early on with playing in a different system although was a natural by the end of the five sets and kept smiling throughout (a rarity I'm told).  Both teams looked a little edgey and tense and they traded points until the number 25 from Essex served four on the bounce and from 16-12 Essex kept that gap until the end winning 25-20.



Not wanting to lose the first two sets again Worthing came out in fighting spirit but Essex matched them and their number 30 caused issues with the serve receive winning 7 points and giving Essex the lead 12-5.  Paulina serving at 8-15 brought Worthing level was a fine display of float serving and supported by some big blocks front court.  At 24-21 Worthing though they had the set in the bag but Essex had other ideas and the 25 brought them back to 25-24. With Essex at 26-25 Paulina dived low and to her right managing to get a strong hand to what looked like a sure winner for Essex, saving the point and keeping the team in the set.  But still either team blinked with consistent serving and no one making errors the set kept going until Chantelle stepped up to serve at 29-29 to put Essex under pressure with solid deep serves and good first balls into Mel gave her options and a stuff block from Sintija (which she celebrated on her own!!) and a clever tip from Paulina got Worthing the set and back into the game - 31-29!

Oh to set three and after winning that mammoth set lasting 32 mins Worthing started stronger consistently getting runs of serve and putting Essex under pressure mixing hits with tips. The Brinne serve might not have been the beast it was against Richmond but it was made up for but intelligent hitting the "Byerly special" tip was employed to good effect and a couple of blocks front court had the girls dancing on court!  Treesy as always covered big areas of court and did well calmly recycling hit after hit to keep the point alive and Worthing came out winners 25-20.

The fourth set again was a slow starter, service and simple tipping errors gave Trinity a boost that Worthing couldn't afford early on and they struggled to get back into the game.  Chantelle's serving again helped but couldn't claw them back.  Essex middles did well getting to the outside and we're getting a strong double block to both the Worthing outsides.  Paulina did well wiping off them and finding some acute angled hits, but in the end Essex won 25-21.

Worthing went into their second five setter this season tentatively going into the time out 8-6 down and not serving well and at 13-9 heads were down.  A good serve deep to one gave Worthing a free ball which Trees hoovered up and Mel gave Paulina a lovely set BOOM a kill to one. Sintija hit the next from back court and suddenly it was a different team - the noise levels were up and two shanks brought Worthing level.  Chantelle pushed on and a block from Trees and another shank saw Worthing just claim the win! A good competitive match all round! 

Although we have to play Essex in the cup in a few weeks and again at home - let's not have 5 sets there!

Monday 20 October 2014

A professional start in Div2!

The national league team played twice this weekend, at home to South Hants and away to Richmond.  Chantelle couldn't make the games as she was on a jolly to Poland, luckily her mum and Craig are more dedicated and still came along to support the team.  Agi is on Maternity leave (hope the scan went well) but came along to help out by doing a line.  The rest of the team were available for the home game.  Hopefully at some point we will be able to get a full team photo, but I don't know when....probably the Christmas meal!

Paulina started her first game for Worthing through the outside with captain Theresa, Em and Brinee were though the middle with Sintija and Mel opposite and setter.  Gemma, Amy and newbie Tracy were on the bench along with coaches Dan and Mr Byerley who was making his first bench appearance for Worthing NL!
South Hants had a tall team that looked to dominate the net, happily for Worthing Brinee was matched against their tallest player and while giving away 3 or 4 inches still managed to get strong hands to most balls while putting away some big hits herself.  

From the start Worthing dominated through strong serving putting Hants on the back foot.  Paulina stepped into the serve receive with Trees and Sintija pretty seamlessly and good balls in gave the setter options.  Some communication issues still need to be resolved, but it was good to see the team try and implement what they have been working on in practice. 

Gemma came on at the end of the first two sets and although not confident going on, she made a positive impact and started the third set for Em.  Tracy came on to set for the final two sets in place of Mel linking up well with local team mate Paulina and Emma through the middle.

The third set started positively with Worthing building a comfortable lead again off the back of strong serving from Brinee, Paulina and Sintija.  Gemma in the process of running in for a quick attack through the middle slipped, which had everyone concerned, although she bounced straight back with a grin it seemed to cause the team to lose focus for a couple of points, before rallying and finishing professionally to win 3-0.

The first home tea of the season was pretty good with traditional Latvian goodies, which were scoffed down along with the standard cakes (no home made ginger cake though!), sandwiches, fruit etc although Nigel was a little disappointed that Em had hidden the crisps!



The team were very keen to start against Richmond on Sunday and due to a slight technical issue were two hours early rather than the standard one!  On the plus side we got to watch a good game between Richmond men's second team against Norwich, their juniors were impressive and even pulled off a textbook pancake for the crowd!

Amy and Gemma couldn't make this game so we were down to the starting six from Saturday along with Tracy, who started setting.  A solid first set saw Worthing control the game for long spells, although Richmond had a ever say die attitude and picked up a number of balls Worthing thought they had finished.  The first set saw Trees put away a nicely run b ball and Sintija ran a crossover that went narrowly wide (no complaints about the communication there - the call could be heard back in Worthing!!) off a good pass in from Paulina. Sintija also pulled off a sneaky dump off the second ball that is becoming a trademark move for her!

In the second set Mel smoothly came on for Tracy and set well finding the middles and getting balls out to the ariel for Trees!  Paulina kept her focus and even with a timeout called she kept serving her usual strong float causing difficulties for the Richmond serve receive. Worthing build a lead they didn't look like giving up.

Richmond in the third set came out stronger with their outside hitter finding the line constantly and the number 16 middle dominating the early exchanges.  A couple of minor tactical adjustments the coach should have mentioned earlier resolved this and the team fought back narrowly dropping the set.  Mark will be upset we got caught out by an early short serve, which had Trees scrambling, while she got a hand to it, there was no way to recycle it.  Em kept head 19-16 down tipping into the space at 4 when they had a double block on her to get Worthing a point and serve, but they couldn't quite claw back the initiative and lost the set 

Keen to avoid the lottery of a fifth set Worthing wanted to finish professionally and Brinee started this with her bullet serve, after three or four of these a short serve was thrown in for an ace, which the team all appreciated!  The Farley's continued to linked up well with Brinee setting Trees for a change and what a beautiful ball it was..... Trees took full advantage spiking a clean winner into the gap.  Paulina not to be out done was hitting well testing the block and getting  points from some good angled shots.  In the end Worthing controlled the majority of the game with their serving and serve receive to edge the win.  "That's the way aha aha I like it"!
Choosing an MVP for Richmond was tough, in the end it came down to the number 16 through the middle and the setter - the setter edged it.  For Worthing our captain (Trees) picked up her first MVP of the season - well played!
Worthing are back in action next weekend away to Essex.






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