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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.