LadyBoys too good for opponents
LAST Friday’s division one volleyball matches saw wins for LadyBoy Express and JBT II, while in the second division DITT Globetrotters and JBT Juniors were victorious.
Division One
LadyBoy Express 3, Sandwick I 0
(25-11, 25-19, 25-17)
LadyBoy Express were soon ahead as Sandwick struggled to receive some tricky serves from Sarah Grogan. Iain White worked hard in defence for Sandwick as clever play at the net from Davie Leslie allowed LadyBoys to stay on the offensive.
Despite the deficit Sandwick settled down and rallies lengthened towards the end of the set. Good net play from Denise Morrison was defended well by Sandwick but LadyBoys went on to win 25-11.
LadyBoys started set two strongly as consistent serving from Brydon Leask gave the front line of Mike Bradley, Denise Morrison and Sarah Grogan the opportunity to attack the Sandwick side.
At 5-1 to LadyBoys the home side appeared to take their foot off the gas and Sandwick took full advantage. Strong serving from Eric Peterson and good attacks from Iain White kept the pressure on LadyBoys as the cracks started to show.
The score remained fairly even up to 15-11 at which point LadyBoys managed to re-group and demonstrated more consistent volleyball. Sandwick rose to the challenge and continued to fight for every point, as Euan Ellis and Susan Brunton covered well and Jacqueline Jamieson chased every ball.
Although never ahead in the set, Sandwick were determined take this one as Nicola Sinclair stepped up to serve and her side pulled it back to 21-19. At this point serve switched sides and Roger Goudie kept his nerve under pressure to serve out 25-19 for LadyBoys.
Set three started with points fairly level up to 7-5. With more strong serving and good teamwork from LadyBoys they began to pull ahead. A few good serves from Jamieson and Peterson helped keep Sandwick in it up to 22-16, but LadyBoys again proved too strong and took the final set 25-17.
MVPs for LadyBoys were Mike Bradley and Denise Morrison and for Sandwick Eric Peterson and Jacqueline Jamieson.
JBT II 3, Sandwick II 0
(25-22, 29-27, 25-12)
Sandwick started with a run of six serves from Joan Smith. Kevin “Pundie” Smith and Ian Bray were in no mood to show any mercy and increased the deficit wading in with effective attacking play.
It was the JBT serve that finally made in-roads to the Sandwick lead. Grant Polson and Ronnie Calderwood were finding gaps in the tight Sandwick defence. They overhauled the lead and pushed the townies in front. JBT secured the first set through some great hitting from Polson.
JBT started set two brightly, using their attacking channels well. Sandwick were finding it difficult to get any big hits past the JBT block, but did find big holes just over it and used this to their advantage. Once the hauliers had shored up their defence they could focus more on attacking and did this effectively.
The points for set two looked all but in the bag at 24-19 to JBT, but a lapse in concentration meant they couldn’t finish it off. Thanks to Pundie’s consistently strong serve Sandwick drew level.
The next passage of play was the most intense and exiting of the match. After a long exchange of points JBT finally took the set 29-27.
Sandwick tried to shake things up in set three, bringing on more height to counter the JBT attack. The confidence was all with the town side though and they started to move the ball around with more precision. This allowed Ben Laurenson and Kirsti Leask to link well on some fast attacks.
Sandwick kept probing the JBT defence but the holes from the previous sets had been plugged. There was to be no comeback this time and JBT took the final set 25-12.
Best on the night for Sandwick were Kevin Smith and Kaye Riise. For JBT it was Ben Laurenson and Kirsti Leask.
Division Two
SLVC 0, DITT Globetrotters 3
(14-25, 17-25, 17-25)
The match started evenly with both teams looking to get the early lead. Tremendous rallies built this game up to be a close one. However, DITT started to take control with extremely powerful serving from Valeska Voelschow, which would go on to trouble SLVC throughout this fixture. Good hitting from Jennifer Manson of SLVC was matched by experienced blocking from Colin Kirkness as DITT took the first set 25-14.
DITT began set two confidently with many players hitting well to give them a commanding lead. The game stayed at a high tempo and a comeback seemed on the cards with impressive all round play from Louise Birnie and strong hitting from Denise Morrison bringing SLVC close at 14-18. DITT took back the initiative and sealed the set 17-25 with some decisive hitting from Colin Kirkness.
There was nothing between the teams at the start of set three. Some long rallies showed no signs of weakness from either team.
SLVC took a narrow lead when strong serving from Lindsey Manson and Vicki Henderson proved to be the difference. However, DITT clawed back and pulled ahead to 18-12 with some powerful serving from Rory Binns and pin-point setting from Juergen Kurtz which set up some strong hitting from his team-mates. SLVC were not going to give up without a fight and played some superb volleyball. DITT matched this with some impressive play taking the final set 25-17.
MVPs for DITT were Charlotte Smith and Colin Kirkness while Louise Birnie took the honours for SLVC.
Harry’s Hotspurs 1, JBT Juniors 3
(26-24, 17-25, 17-25, 12-25)
JBT juniors took to court showing they meant business by consistently using their three-touch attack, finishing off with strong hits from James Aitken and Jordan Morrison.
Juniors’ early lead was quickly turned around after a run of serves from Hotspurs’ Shane Jamieson. Juniors continued to make Hotspurs work for each point as Aitken and Callum Williamson sought out the corners. It remained close to the end and the final few points saw strong attacks and great defensive work from both teams as Hotspurs clinched it 26-24.
Juniors made another strong start to set two, storming ahead to 8-1 after Paul Hibbert had a run of serves. Hotspurs started slowly, clawing back points through solid attacking from Jamieson and Andrew Crossan. Possession changed hands regularly but Juniors maintained their early lead, taking the set 25-17. Juniors wanted to replicate their success and took an early lead. Joshua Morrison showed strength at the net, setting up strong attacks for the hitters and Lewis Anderson worked tirelessly in the backcourt, making some great pick-ups.
Hotspurs again closed the gap through great backcourt work from Jillian Copland building attacks through Crossan and Jamieson. Juniors fought back, taking a run of points with great serving from Haydn Thomason. With a comfortable lead JBT Juniors calmly finished it off 25-11. Great teamwork from Juniors again allowed them to take the lead with Aitken and Joshua Morrison combining well at the net. Jordan Morrison worked hard finding space in Hotspurs’ defence and covering well. Hotspurs could see the set slipping away from them as juniors went on to win 25-12. MVPs for Hotspurs were Andrew Crossan and Jillian Copland and for JBT Juniors it was Callum Williamson.
For league tables, fixtures, photos and more in-depth reports visit www.shetlandvolleyball.com
Fixtures Tonight – Sandwick games hall: Burra v Harry’s Hotspurs at 6.30pm (first referee Sandwick I, second referee Sandwick II); Sandwick I v Sandwick II at 8.30pm (first referee Burra, second referee Harry’s Hotspurs).
Clickimin Centre: JBT I v LadyBoy Express at 7pm (first referee JBT Juniors, second referee SLVC); JBT Juniors v SLVC at 9pm (first referee JBT I, second referee LadyBoy Express).
