Showing posts with label Vipers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vipers. Show all posts

Monday 6 April 2015

Vipers win 3-1 against Crawley to keep title hopes alive!

Vipers played high flying Crawley at the High School in a key game to influence where the title will end up! A strong start for the Vipers saw them take a close first set 26-24 with good hitting from Derek, good back court cover and blocking. An equally close second set ended 25-18 thanks to a strong run of serves at the business end of the set. Vipers needed to win by at least 3-1 to start the last game of the season against Brighton Jag's only needing to win, a Crawley win would see them crowned as champions and a 3-2 win by Vipers would mean they needed to beat Jag's 3-0. The third set was close again, but this time Crawley held their nerve to close it out 22-25! So all to play for in Set 4 and the same pattern continued with both teams trading points! A strong serve run from Crawley saw them serving for the set at 23-24, but the Vipers kept cool and turned it around to win 26-24 and need to win against Jag's to take the title in one of the closest finishes for a long time. Great officiating from Richard and Zuz, good support for both teams and a very high standard of play on a very competitive evening of volleyball. Derek picked up MVP for Vipers and the Crawley captain picked it up for Crawley.

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Vipers beat Scorpions to keep pressure on Crawley

Vipers played Scorpions for the second week in a row with the same 3-0 result to keep the pressure on Crawley who remain favourites to win the league. Vipers have just Crawley and Brighton Jag's to play, but wins against both teams would result in the committee having to get calculators out to see who wins on sets difference! It was a good performance against scorpions who battled hard against a very determined Vipers team. Damo picked up MVP with strong hitting including some combination attacks which saw Scorpions struggle to determine where the hits were coming from. Next game is at home on Easter Sunday against favourites Crawley, but you just never know what might happen is the Vipers can get out a full squad!

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!

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Vipers beat East Grinstead 3-1

A full squad except for Matt Lay travelled away to East Grinstead. The Vipers always manage to struggle in this fixture and last year got away with day light robbery in a very close 3-2 win.

True to form the Vipers struggled to get going against a very spirited EG Mens team who never gave up chasing every ball down and made far fewer mistakes than Vipers. The first set went to EG and it was clear Worthing would have to get their act together if they were going to win the match. A much better start from the Vipers saw them take an early lead in the second set, but again EG refused to lie down and clawed back to level things half way through the set. But Vipers started to cut out the first pass and hitting mistakes to close out the set comfortably.

Another strong start to the third set until Damo managed to slip and slightly turn his ankle attempting a back court hit and EG started to sense they may have a good chance to take another set. Some improved hitting from Matt and a better first pass enabled Andy to open up the middle with Andrew and Nigel taking full advantage. The Vipers closed out the third set and started to find their groove in the fourth. EG refused to lay down and their setter continued to be a thorn in the Vipers side with the occasional second touch dump and hit.

Be now Vipers had cut out their serving errors and built a large lead that they never looked like losing.

So a close and hard fought 3-1 win against an improving EG who should start to record more wins if they carry on working hard. MVP went to Andy probably for the court distance covered in the early sets until the Vipers pass improved later on, but must have been pushed hard by both Vipers middles and Derek through opposite.

Sunday 15 February 2015

Vipers Vrs Jets The Rematch

The Vipers Vrs Jets rematch started with Matt Lay stepping in as setter for the Jets as Martin was late due to work. Vipers were without Nigel and so Mickey stepped in through the middle.

An even contest at the start of the set, but Vipers started to impose themselves with big hits from Damo and Matt Smith and they took the first set to 14.

With Martin back for the second the Jets relaxed too much and found themselves 8-0 down. But a good comeback due to better back court cover and improved blocking saw them start to chip away at the Vipers lead. The Jets threatened to get inside Damo's head, but he started to vary his hits and the Vipers closed out the second set with a few points to spare.

A close start to the third set saw Mark replace Mickey through the middle and Derek started to find his range. The Vipers closed out a key 3-0 win, but the Jets played well with good back court cover from Marlon, middle hitting from both Josh and Ninah. The Jets are safe this season and still expect them to surprise a few more teams if they can field their strongest team.

Vipers MVP went to, Derek and for Jets it was Marlon.

Monday 9 February 2015

Vipers Beat East Grinstead 3-0

Viper played East Grinstead (EG) at the High School with Derek making his first appearance through opposite after last weeks friendly against Eastbourne. Along with Derek the Vipers had Nigel and Andrew through the middle, Andy setting with  Damo through the outside along with Matt Smith after a week away skiing. With Matt Lay unavailable we had the injured Mickey and Mark on the bench with Richard playing as Libero.

EG fielded a stronger team than last weeks fixture against the Jets and they started stronger than Vipers taking an early lead. It took a while for the Vipers to get up to speed with the new line up, but a series of big blocks and Damo consistently finding a hole with a roll shot to the middle of EG's court they clawed back in time to win the first set. In the second set Matt stated to find his range and Derek make some key blocks along with great middle hitting from Nigel and Andrew. The second set went to an improving Vipers and they carried the momentum in to the third.

Strong hitting from EG was tamed by even better blocking from Andrew and Nigel and the Viper's closed out a competitive game 3-0.

MVP went to Damo and the Vipers look forward to the return fixture against EG in a few weeks time.

Wednesday 4 February 2015

Jets beat EG and Vipers Struggle To Win 3-2 Against Eastbourne

Vipers played Eastbourne at the High School on Sunday after the Jets beat East Grinstead with a very strong 3-0 performance.

The Jets had a full squad for the first time in months with Luis back from his travels. They started with Magic opposite and Matt through the outside after his strong performance there against the Vipers last week (well for the first set anyway!). A much improved first pass meant Martin was able to open up the middle and Josh took full advantage with one of his best performances this season so far. Ninah continues to improve through the middle and is starting to nail a few blocks and quick attacks. A solid block and hitting through opposite from Magic, mobile coverage back court from Dan and the strong outside hitting options from Marlon and Luis mean the Jets have options and when they pull together are a force to be reckoned with.

Strong serving and varied attacks orchestrated by Martin meant the Jets never looked in danger of losing a set and they finished 3-0 winners. Retaining their first division status last season was the first time any "second" team has managed to stay in the top tier of Sussex volleyball and this win should assure first Division status for next season so they can now relax and see how far up the table they can finish. 

The Vipers game moved to a friendly as Eastbourne could only manage to bring 5 players and consequently they really struggled to find the motivation to take the game seriously. Josh helped out Eastbourne who started strongly taking an early lead which they never looked in danger of losing. The first and second sets went to Eastbourne against a very flat and lack lustre Vipers team who looked like they would rather be down the pub!

Strong words from the coach and determined efforts from their setter saw them sneak the third set before they gradually started to wake up! A close fourth set went to the Vipers before they finally moved through the gears to secure a relatively easy final set win.

A good performance from Eastbourne and especially Josh who showed the Vipers no mercy! Good character from the Vipers after a very poor start, but five sets can only help new Viper Derek find his range through the outside and settle in to the service receive.

Thanks to all who stayed to officiate and play on a night where some had travelled to and from Manchester.

Monday 13 October 2014

Vipers tame the Dragons

Vipers returned to Eastbourne for the second week in a row, but without Mark and Matt Lay to take on their second team. Nigel turned out for his first match of the season playing through the middle with Andy setting, Mickey opposite, Andrew middle, Damo outside, Matt Smith outside and Richard as Libero.

The Vipers struggled to find their groove in the first set, but never really looked like losing it with Nigel soon finding his feet through the middle? Better hitting from Matt in the second saw Vipers close it out to 9 points and the final set was never in any doubt even moving Nigel to the outside and Damo through the middle.

So an early finish for a change and straight to the Market Diner! Damo picked up MVP.

Monday 6 October 2014

Vipers Back on Track

Vipers traveled away to Eastbourne Phoenix with the same squad that lost against Crawley last week. A nervous first set saw Eastbourne win a close set with Vipers continuing to struggle with their first pass. The second set saw a better first pass and less errors resulting in Vipers winning thanks to better hitting through the outside from Matt Smith and Damo.

Vipers started the third set poorly and very quickly were down 6-1. More noise, better defence and a good service run from Andrew saw the Vipers come back strongly to win the third. Vipers started strong in the fourth and won with relative ease having built up a big lead very quickly.

The Market dinner finished of the evening and we look forward to return trip next Monday against Eastbourne's newly promoted second team. Mark picked up MVP.

Saturday 4 October 2014

Poor Start For the Vipers

Vipers head for Eastbourne on Monday looking to restart their season following a  3-2 defeat away to Crawley. Following the loss of Dom and Edvin over the summer and without Nigel the Vipers started well winning the first two sets with relative ease. The third set was much closer but all of a sudden the Vipers first pass fell apart under pressure from strong float serving by Crawley. Things did not improve in the fourth set and by the final set the writing was on the wall.

So time to improve our first pass and get our season back on track against Eastbourne's first team which could be an even tougher test.

Monday 31 March 2014

Vipers update - better late than never!

A very busy period of matches for the Vipers with games against Arun, Eastbourne and Brighton Adur. The Vipers travelled away to Arun without Andrew, Nigel, Turbo, Jimmy, Richard and Mark due to a selection of injuries, holidays and work commitments. To ensure the match went ahead Josh, Martin, Matt and Dom from the Jets joined vipers survivors Andy, Damo, Edvin and an injured Mickey to play a very strong Arun team. Arun edged a first set with strong hitting, but the Vipers won the second set thanks to good hitting from Damo and much improved coverage in back court. Arun came back strong in a close third set before winning the fourth with relative ease. Given the reduced strength of the Vipers they did not disgrace themselves against a very strong hitting Arun team that are now odds on favourites to win the league. Next the Vipers travelled away to play Eastbourne, but welcomed back Nigel and Richard whilst retaining the middle hitting from Josh. Eastbourne were well up for the match and the Vipers just managed to win the first set 26 - 24 and you can see the final points on the Eastbourne web site including a highly entertaining "ave it" moment from Grant! The next two sets were close, but the Vipers won 3-0 with Andy picking up MVP and strong performances from Nigel and Mickey. Last Sunday saw the Vipers play Brighton Adur at home with a full squad except for Mark and Jimmy. An ill tempered start to the match was won by the Vipers despite the visitors continually questioning decisions from the officials and line judges! The second and third sets were won by the Vipers despite a strong effort from Adur with great blocking from Andrew and MVP Nigel. With only one game to go the Vipers should finish second and look forward to the Sussex cup and SEVA tournaments.

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Vipers Win Against Crawley

Vipers travelled to Crawley to play a scratch team and just did enough when it mattered in each set to win 3-0. Difficult to pick a player of the match as everyone was worse than average so will mention both officials who played blinders.

Emma stepped in to help out as second ref and as usual picked up lots of rotation faults with Crawley and took no crap from anyone! Simon was the special guest ref and maintained control throughout and must be in the running for the smartest ref of the year award (first time I can remember having a ref in a suit and tie).

Highlight of the game was probably the improved quality of timeout calls "just sayin"...........

Thursday 16 January 2014

Vipers - A Close Shave!

Vipers played East Grinstead without Jimmy, Turbo and Mickey, but still had nine names on the score sheet.
The first set went to plan (14-25) with Andy, Edvin, Damo, Nigel, Andrew and Dom stepping in to the vacant outside hitting position. A few changes for the second set and all of a sudden the errors started to creep in! The odd serve error, shanked first pass and hit in to the net combined with great recoveries and determined play from EG saw them take the second set 25-20.
Strong words from the coach a few less errors and the Vipers took the third set 17-25.
The fourth set started poorly with the Vipers apparently unable to get a single serve in court, spikes still rising as they hit the back wall and more determined play from EG saw the match levelled at 2-2.
More changes from the coach resulted in Nigel moving to the outside, but still more serving errors resulted in the Vipers trailing 8-4 at the turn around. Time for the Vipers to dig very deep to try and avoid a very large dent in their title challenge. A few more serves in, less mistakes, solid hitting under pressure from Nigel and a bit of doubt creeping in to the EG team saw the Vipers bring it back to 13-13 and eventually crawl across the finishing line 13-15.
Phew! Now that was a very close shave. Very muted celebrations from the Vipers at the end of a tough match that saw way to many very basic errors against a well organised and improving East Grinstead team who surely must start to pick up more wins before the season ends.
Andy L picked up MVP with Damo picking up the very keenly contested title of "most serving errors every recorded in a single match".

Sunday 15 December 2013

Jets lose to Storrington, but Vipers beat Hastings

The Jets travelled to Storrington without their coach (playing for Vipers at Hastings), Luis, Bernard and a late arriving Martin. The Jets lost a close first set with Iain setting, but with Martin taking over setting duties they won the second set 25-8. Two close sets followed, but Storrington managed to win them both and win their first match of the season (I suspect many more wins should follow before the season ends).

Vipers were away at Hastings and without Matt, Dom and Mark and moved to an early 7-0 lead before taking their foot of the pedal. They eventually got back in to the set which they won with some good blocking from Andrew and hitting from Jimmy. The second set saw the Vipers struggle to serve consistently and get a good pass to the setter resulting in Hastings winning by 2 points.

Vipers managed to wake up in the next 2 sets and close out a comparatively easy match 3-1.

Matt Lay picked up MVP for Jets and Damo for the Vipers.

Vipers head to the Christmas back at the top of the league on sets difference from Arun who beat Eastbourne 3-2 on Thursday in one of most fiercely contested leagues for many years.


Sunday 1 December 2013

Vipers beat Brighton Adur 3-1.

Vipers travelled away to Brighton Adur with a strong squad that included both Edvin and Jimmy for the first time in weeks. Good reverse hitting from Edvin, a strong outside and improving first ball saw the Vipers take the first set comfortably. A poor serve receive at the start of the second set left the Vipers with much to do in the second set, but they had enough to recover and move to 2-0. An even worse start to the third set saw the Vipers 13-1 down. A good fight back following a few substitutions saw the vipers drag it back to 24-24, but poor serving let them down and gave Adur the third set.

A much better start to the fourth set along with great noise from our travelling support resulted in the Vipers taking a strong early lead that they never looked like losing. So a good 3-1 victory and well deserved MVP from Edvin leaves the Vipers just Hastings away on the 15th to play this year.

Sunday 24 November 2013

Vipers win another long match against Scorpions.

Without Mark, Andrew C, Jimmy, Turbo and Edvin the Vipers again drafted in Matt and Dom for the return fixture against Scorpions. They started well securing the first set with comparative ease with good hitting through the middle as the scorpion loaded the outside hit. Scorpions came back strong to win a close second set. The Vipers again came back to win the third set with some strong serving and hitting from MVP Damo. Scorpions fought well to secure the forth set and take it to a fifth set again. By now last night's JD was starting to leave Nigel's body and some good blocking and middle hits saw the Vipers take a good lead that they were not going to give up. A good result with a depleted
squad and we look forward to another tough match next week against Brighton Adur.

Sunday 17 November 2013

A Great Weekend for Worthing

Well done to the ladies for winning both National League matches 3-0 and 3-1. They remain undefeated in their first season 😀

The Sharks played against East Grinstead 2 without many of their regulars and both Dom and Matt stepped in to help Kishan, Iain, Ebber and Ben. Despite a great effort they eventually lost 3-1 with Iain securing MVP and a great performance from Ben who must have pushed him close for the decision.

Last match of the evening saw he Vipers take on a confident a Eastbourne who arrived with the only remaining 100% record in Div 1. The Vipers were without Mark and Jimmy, but welcomed back Nigel and Turbo. The Vipers started set 1 very strongly playing some of their best volleyball this season securing a convincing first set with relative ease. Eastbourne started to play better in the second set, but some good blocking from Andrew Crockett and hitting from Mickey saw the secure a much closer set. Into the third set and it was a close and intense end to the game. The vipers closed the match out 3-0 and highlights include some great pick ups from Turbo, a sweet middle from Andrew and great blocks.

The win opens up the league that see's Vipers, Arun, Eastbourne and Brighton Arun all having lost one match!

Monday 11 November 2013

Vipers Win Long Match Against Scorpions

Without Jimmy and Mark it was always going to be a tough match, but it meant Matt Lay and Dom Wisdom had their first starts for the Vipers. A tight first set, but the Vipers finished ahead with Damo playing through the outside with Mickey, Andrew C and Matt through the middle, Andy setting and dom opposite.

Scorpions recycled the ball well and their never say die attitude saw them win the second set. A poor start to the third set saw the Vipers in trouble early on, but Matt stepped up with a great run of serves and some key blocks to get them back in to the game. The Vipers closed out the third, but were unable to win the fourth after another poor start.

All set for a fifth set and for the first time they started very strongly and raced to a strong lead at the turn around. The Viper maintained the lead to finish winners in a very had fought and competitive match.

In summary not the best performance from the Vipers, but key highlights we're the performances of both debutants Matt and Dom and the ability of the team to grind out a result when not playing well. A good performance from Scorpions who will secure their first win very soon if they carry on playing as well.

Thursday 31 October 2013

Vipers Win Away At Horsham1

Vipers travelled away to Horsham for a Sunday afternoon match and the starting six saw Andy setter, Damo opposite, Mickey and Jimmy through the outside and Andrew and Mark through the middle. With both usual libero's unavailable Dan stepped up from the Jets for his Vipers debut!

Vipers started strongly and set the tone for any easy afternoons volleyball taking the first set to only seven. The second set followed the same pattern and saw Dom adding some height to the front court for a while. The final set included a few more "fireworks" before Mark turned his ankle and was replaced by Matt, but the Vipers closed out another set.

Dan enjoyed his first match for the Vipers and must have set some kind of record by not managing to actually touch the ball the entire match! Mind you he managed to stay for the length of the match which is more than can be said for the Horsham Libero!

Monday 14 October 2013

Results round Up

Finally recovered from a bad cold and busy work schedule, so time to catch up on some men's results!

Vipers lost 3-2 to Arun in a very close and competitive match. Vipers started well to take the first set, but Arun responded well to take the next 2 sets. Vipers pulled it back to 2-2 and turned round 8-7 up in the final set before Arun finished strongly to take the match. The game was played in a great and very competitive spirit could have gone either and was well officiated by Freda and Colin. With news of Brighton beating Adur and Eastbourne also unbeaten so far this season it is shaping up for another very close season!

Jets lost 3-0 to Hastings when Turbo made his setting debut as Martin was unavailable. A slightly better performance than the defeat against Crawley, but they struggled to cope with the two strong hasting's outside hitters.

A much better performance from the Jets against Vipers despite losing 3-0. With strong and very vocal support from the side lines the Jets pushed Vipers all the way in the first set. A poor second set from the Jets was followed by a rally in the third set where they again scored more than 20 points. MVP went to Matt Lay and Andrew Crockett.