Drifters take volleyball’s league cup
LHD Drifters won vollebyall’s BP Men’s League Cup with a clean sweep over JBT while the BP Ladies’ Plate title went to the T Rowley Junior Ladies.
BP Sullom Voe“ Men’s Cup Play-Off JBT 0, LHD Drifters 3 (23-25, 17-25, 17-25) In the battle for the BP Men’s League Cup LHD Drifters took a quick 6-0 lead with good serving from Andrew Crossan. JBT called a time-out and promptly won their first two points. They then worked their way back into the game with good attacking play from Garry Teale ably set up by John Magnus Gray. Gray then moved to the service line and pulled JBT to within two points. Good serving from Kevin Jones and sensational front court play gave JBT their first advantage of the game at 15-13. After a run of close points the Drifters regained a lead of three points through accurate tipping from Davie Leslie. JBT hauled back the deficit but the Drifters closed out the first set 23-25 with a good hit from Crossan.
Set two began with an awesome rally with superb play from both sides but LHD took the point eventually when Brydon Leask saw a hole in the JBT defence and tipped the ball into it. Drifters continued to pull ahead with good serving from Leask and Mike Bradley. But JBT’s never say die attitude brought them slowly back into the game with big blocks from Teale and beasting hits from Ben Laurenson. Undeterred the Drifters regained focus and finished off the set 17-25.
The third set started differently to the first two with the score remaining very close in the early part. After the score reached 7-7 the Drifters began to pull ahead with good hitting and tipping from Michael Boxwell, who was playing in the unfamiliar role of middle blocker. Mark Loynd and Jones tried their utmost to get more points on the board for JBT but the Drifters defence had no problems picking them up. With the Drifters passing the 20 point mark JBT stepped up a gear, taking seven points in a row with Brian Wood orchestrating the attack. A hit going just out brought their run to an end and handed the impetus back to LHD. A trademark Bradley dunk was spotted a little too late by the JBT blockers and this finished off the set 17-25 and the match 0-3.
This was a highly entertaining game of volleyball which saw the LHD Drifters take the BP Men’s League Cup. MVP for JBT was peerie Garry Teale and for the Drifters it was Brydon Leask.
BP Sullom Voe“ Ladies’ Plate Play-Off T R Junior Ladies 3, Benchwarmers 0 (25-9 25-15, 25-10) Ann Marie Goudie provided good, steady serving to start the scoring and bring it to 13-0. Benchwarmers were unlucky not to make something of their three touches. They took a timeout and started to find their form with good serving from Caroline Smith, winning four points in a row for her team. The Juniors showed their strength to win the set.
Benchwarmers came out strong in the second set to take a 5-2 lead, with confident service from Kerry Burgess. A good strike by Ava Sim for the Juniors gave them the edge at 8-7. Even play followed with the lead switching from side to side. Juniors’ Sarah Groat took her lasses to a 22-12 lead. A long rally saw both teams fight for the point, but the Juniors won through to take the set 25-15.
In set three play went from end to end until Juniors took control. Steady serving from Louise Birnie saw the Juniors get a 12-4 lead before the Benchwarmers called a time out. Juniors maintained their composure and continued to build on their lead to 19-5 before strong serving from Gayle Johnson pulled back a couple of points. Juniors were too strong and won the set 25-10, though the Benchwarmers showed steady improvement throughout the game.
MVP for T R Juniors was Ann Marie Goudie while for Benchwarmers it was awarded to Caroline Smith.
LadySpurs Express 2, T R Junior Ladies 3 (25-18, 24-26, 12-25, 25-21, 7-13) LadySpurs won the coin toss to begin serving and started strongly with Fiona Shearer and Denise Morrison blocking well to take the early advantage. Amy Sclater consistently hit well to keep the Juniors in the game but a good run of serves from Diane Thomson and good overall play from the LadySpurs saw them take the first set 25-18.
Ann Marie Goudie of the Juniors started the second set well with some great serves. The teams were evenly matched for the duration of the set before LadySpurs gained the advantage. They could not hold onto it though and a smash from Lauren White gave the Juniors the confidence they needed to take the set 26-24.
In the third set, the Juniors took an early lead with consistent serves from Goudie rattling the LadySpurs who eventually regained composure and some vital points. Ava Sim and Sclater worked well to extend the Juniors lead and they wrapped up the set 25-12.
The fourth set saw a rejuvenated LadySpurs fighting back and the set was battled out point for point before the Juniors began to pull ahead. LadySpurs worked hard to claw back some points and put pressure on the Juniors to win the set 25-21.
The LadySpurs won the coin toss to begin serving for the final set and both teams were riled and eager to win. With energy levels high, the Juniors gained an early lead. Although LadySpurs fought back hard, unfortunately time was not on their side and the Juniors took the set 13-7 and the match 3-2. This win earned the T Rowley Junior Ladies the BP Sullom Voe Ladies’ Plate title.
MVP for LadySpurs Express was Denise Morrison and for T Rowley Junior Ladies it was Ava Sim.
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