TVC-NVL

Essex NVL Round-Up – Good Starts for Essex’s Top Teams

It has been an incredibly busy start to the season around the county, with teams at all levels of the game well into their fixtures for this season. Today we take a look at a quick look at the fortunes of our five National Volleyball League teams.

Men’s Super League – Team Essex Blaze

Blaze have made a good start to their second campaign in the top division. They rattled off three quick wins to begin the campaign against Sheffield Hallam, Newcastle Staffs and Southampton VC. However they have now lost two on the spin, going down against IBB Polonia in a five set thriller and Richmond Docklands. With three crucial games to go before the league splits mid-season, the team will need all your support in the final remaining home game at the University of Essex Sports Centre on December 8th.

Men’s Division 1 – Tendring VC Men

Tendring are on a roll having blasted away the competition with a perfect start to the season. Last year’s unbeaten winners of Division 2 South have continued their good form, dropping only a single set so far this year. They have a home match on December 9th at the University of Essex Sports Centre in Colchester. Head down and support them on their quest for promotion.

Men’s Division 2 South – Team Essex Estonians

Estonians have shown a dramatic improvement on last season as a great mixture of emerging talent and experienced leaders have pushed them to a strong four wins from their first five matches in D2S. They are very much in the promotion hunt with a key match on December 8th away against Richmond. Their final home match of 2018 will be at home against MK City on December 16th at St John Payne School in Chelmsford.

Ladies Super League – Tendring VC Ladies

Winning four of their first five games in the Super League, Tendring Ladies are well positioned heading in to the mid-season split. Their solitary loss came against unbeaten league leaders Durham and they have four very good wins to their name. With a huge double header coming up over the weekend of December 8th-9th at the University of Essex Sports Centre, any support you can provide will be very much appreciated.

Ladies Division 2 South – Team Essex Trinity

Trinity have had a tough start to the season, with results not quite matching the performances against some of the top teams in the division. The team has lots of talented players who will get positive results with continued good performances. Their final home match of 2018 will be at home against Dartford on December 16th at St John Payne School in Chelmsford.

 

To learn more about Team Essex VC click here.

 

To learn more about Tendring VC click here.

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Brentwood enjoy double finals day success…

The finale of the Essex Volleyball Season saw the Janet Bedford Essex Ladies Cup and the Paul Bohannon Essex Men’s Cup contested at St John Payne School in Chelmsford for finals day 2018. The day was a successful one for Brentwood Volleyball Club who were victorious in both competitions. The day saw a return to the familiar “one set shootout” format of the last few seasons. This made for a fascinating day of Volleyball.

Ladies Competition

The ladies played in a round robin format with the Brentwood Slappers winning on point’s difference from the East U17 Girls performance Squad. Who alongside their U15 counterparts made their debuts in adult volleyball competition. It is hoped Eastern Region participation will continue in the coning years.

Men’s Competition

The men’s competition ran over two pools and then a knockout competition. Brentwood Bombers were victorious in a tense final against the debutant Hussars VC team from Chelmsford. Hussars were taking part in their first in Essex competition and we look forward to welcoming them into the men’s league next season. Also making their debut were the East boys U15 and U17 performance squads. The U17’s showed their potential to walk away with the Essex Plate in the secondary knockout competition.

Overall it was a successful iteration of finals day. Stay tuned for more details on Finals Day 2019 which should be coming as we approach the new season.

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Chelmsford Host Successful Charity Volleython!

On Sunday Chelmsford Volleyball Club raised over £200 for Farleigh Hospice by holding a 5-hour volleython in memory of Essex Volleyball Stalwart Paul Bohannan. Players from all over the county converged on Anglia Ruskin University for the day of indoor action with the biggest cheer of the day coning for the reforming of the Chelmsford Partners squad for a set.

All in all it was a great day and kudos should be given to Essex Volleyball President Steve Peacock for organizing the day and to everyone who got involved for such a good cause.

If you are interested in playing volleyball in Chelmsford, click on the Get Involved tab above to find out more.

Boswells U18 Men Win National Cup

Boswells Blaze 3 – 2 Wessex 31-29, 25-18, 30-28, 25-20, 16-14

 

The final match of the day was between Boswells Blaze and Wessex Junior Men. A hugely anticipated match, the Boswells team included Toby French and Tom Ketley, both England juniors, while Wessex Junior Men’s Miguel Espinoza had been a part of the winning Wessex team from the day before, and was looking to add this title to what had already been a successful weekend for him and Wessex.

 

It was first blood to Wessex as Boswell’s first smash cannoned back off Espinoza’s block and fell to the floor. This was enough to send the Wessex crowd into raptures, setting the tone for the remainder of the match! The teams traded blows, each greeted by thunderous cheers from their supporters. Wessex were up at the first time out, 8-7. Both teams came back out firing- it was all about the hitters in the early stages, as the blockers struggled to cope with the power and angles. It was literally point for point all the way until Boswells dropped 22-19 behind. Coach Darren Lewis called a time out to re-energise his players- it worked a treat as they won the next 3 points to bring it back to 22-22. A big hit from Espinoza gave Wessex set point, but they failed to capitalise as Boswells came back to 26-26. neither team was giving an inch until Boswells finally put two points together to grind out a 31-29 first set win.

 

 

With the supporters glued to their seats and hungry for more, the second set go under way. Having seen quite a few serves go into the net or fly long, Wessex’ Joel Roberts kept his head and put together a run of safe but effective serves to force an early lead, however it was once again 8-7 to Wessex at the time out. Some impressive pick ups kept them just ahead, but Boswells brought themselves back into the game with some huge hits from French as they creep ahead 14-13. That turned into 20-16, forcing Lynn Allen to call a timeout for Wessex. Boswells were just too strong though, and closed out the set 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead.

 

 

A massive task lay in wait for Wessex at the start of the third set. Could they come back from 2-0? It didn’t seem likely, as Boswells took a 3-0 lead, which was swiftly converted into an 8-3 at the first time out. Wessex were unable to close the gap, and found themselves facing an uphill task as they went into the second time out at 16-12 down. Houlihan and French continued to pound away at the Wessex defence although some big jump serves from Espinoza reduced the deficit and brought Wessex right back into the match as the scores were tied at 18-18. Three blocks from Wessex took them to 21 but Boswells had other ideas as it was their turn to come back to 22-22. A big hit from Stoimenov regained the lead for Wessex, but this was wiped out by a well positioned smash by Boswells’ Allen. It was once again going for point for point, Boswells desperate to wrap the game up in 3 sets and Wessex summoning every ounce of strength they could find to stay in the final. Boswells found themselves with a third match point as the crowd noise increased from both sets of supporters. The tension was evident, as the serve drifted long, giving Wessex the lifeline they were so desperately searching for. They kept their nerve, sending the match into a fourth set, 30-28.

 

 

That win revitalised the Wessex boys, as their kills got stronger and blockers harder to hit through. A 6-1 lead was soon brought back to 6-5 as Boswells had no intention of easing up. As many may have predicted, it was too close to call once again at the first time out with Wessex leading 8-7. The time out seemed to halt the Boswells momentum, as Wessex reeled off the next five points to open a 6 point lead. Boswells managed to claw back a few points but Espinoza once again come up with the goods when it mattered, smashing the ball cross court to seal the 4th set for Wessex.

The pressure of a fifth set was evident, as both teams were making uncharacteristic errors. Harry Jones was doing all he could to keep the ball alive for Wessex, no easy task given the pace and dip on Toby French’s jump serve. At the change of ends, Boswells were up 8-6. A block by Ketley and Munro moved it onto 10-6 as Boswells closed in on retaining their title. Espinoza kick started a Wessex recovery, as hit after hit took them into an 11-10 lead. The teams went point for point once again, with Stoimenov saving a match point with a hit through the middle. A tip from Boswell’s Wincott gave them a second match point, which James Munro was more than happy to take, hitting straight onto the floor and sending his team and supporters into hysterics.

Congratulations to Boswells on retaining their title, and also to Wessex for contributing to one of the best junior finals in recent years.

MVP: Miguel Espinoza (Wessex)

Boswells U18 Women Win National Cup

Boswells Blaze 3 -1 Tameside 25-18, 25-23, 20-25, 26-24

 

Having won the U16 girls final earlier in the day, Tameside were looking to do the double and add the U18 title to their accolades. However they were up against a strong Boswells Blaze side containing Nicole Parish and Mechell Daniel, key players for Malory Eagles and Esther Daniels who had competed in the Women’s Cup Final the previous day plus Freya Wincott and Sophie Haydon who won the National Shield with Tendring.

Coaches Survey 2013

Volleyball England are undertaking a coaches survey to better understand what roles people fill.

 

You DO NOT have to be a registered or qualified coach just someone that is involed in coaching.

 

Volleyball England Coaches Survey 2013

 

You are invited to participate in the Volleyball England 2013 Coaches Survey. You will be asked questions about the groups or teams that you coach, your ambitions and your development needs. The survey is completely confidential, but you can record your name if you want us to follow up any development opportunities with you. The results will enable Volleyball England to understand the range of roles our coaches have, the age groups that they coach and to provide suitable development opportunities for our coaches. The survey should only take about ten minutes and is strictly confidential. The survey can be accessed via the link below until the end of February 2013.”