Mens Division 2

Our NVL Ladies are in action at Tendring Technology College, starting at 11:30. With Oxford and Guildford both playing each other as part of a triangular with Sussex Dolphins, a victory here is vital to keep up the pressure on both teams. Oxford have played two games more already, but Guildford will make up their game in hand this weekend.

The BVA Ladies face a tough challenge at home to Oxford Ladies 1 and Spikeopaths Ladies 1. Oxford Ladies 1 are the runaway league leaders, with our local rivals hot on their heels. A win against either team would go down as a major upset. Please come along and lend your support from 4pm.

Good luck to all involved!

Up against them are the teams from Maidenhead and Basingstoke. Aces will be looking to score some important points to put some distance between themselves and Spikeopaths Ladies 2 who have an identical record.

As Maidenhead are officially the home team, the match starts at 12:00. Aces are playing first and second, so please come and lend your support if at all possible!!

BVA Men: lanterne rouge Reading University are in action against Oxford 1 and Farnborough. Both are strong teams but it depends on which team Reading Uni put out – the one we beat easily or the one that beat us?! Both teams above us are in direct competition on Sunday.

BVA Ladies: Spikeopaths 2 are in a tough match against Spelthorne (who we came so close to beating) and the unbeaten Oxford Ladies 1 team at Loddon Valley. Newbury Ladies are not in action.

BVA Ladies: Sunday 27th Feb, 12:00 @ Kendrick School. Maidenhead are the home team and we play Basingstoke first, Maidenhead second and referee third.

NVL Ladies: Sunday 6th March,  11:30 @ Tendring Technology College (it’s somewhere in Essex). This is a standard NVL single match.

BVA Men: Sunday 13th March, 17:00 @ Headington School, Oxford. Aces are first up vs Basingstoke Lions, then against Oxford and refereeing the last match.

Per normal procedure with midweek friendly matches, the men will be training with the Spikeopaths on their club night.

Just a reminder that BVA training on Tuesday nights are for team members and by invitation only. If you are unsure if you are invited, men please ask Dave Fox or Christine Brown and ladies and juniors ask Claire Stent.

Club night on Mondays at Kendrick school are for all members.

Aces started with Natalie and Karen setting, Stef and Matt at middle and Laure and Claire outside, with Steph, Katie and Natasha on the bench. Aces stayed in touch with Spelthorne through the first set, and with the score at 18-24, rallied to find 4 points before dropping the first set.

The second set went better for Aces. Steph subbed in for Natalie who was feeling the after-effects of a stomach bug. Key to the game was blocking, with everyone, but especially Stef and Matthew, going up to block every single Spelthorne attack. This, combined with Aces’ never-say-die attitude when chasing down the ball, meant that they were able to win most of the long rallies and also wrap up the second set, 25-21.

The tie-break set started flat, with Spelthorne pushing out to a 4-0 lead. Aces called a timeout, and this seemed to trip up the visitors slightly, with Aces pulling it back to 14-12. It wasn’t quite enough and the visitors ended up worthy victors.

The other match was as one-sided as the first match was exciting. Aces were exhausted from the first match, and with Matthew unable to play in the second game, some enforced personnel changes threw them off their rhythm. Claire moved to middle and Katie took over on the wing.

Oxford were a class above (to say nothing of being fresher) and wasted no time imposing their authority in both sets. A change of strategy in the second set, with Karen moving to middle and Steph to setter (with Claire earning a well-deserved rest), did little to stem the tide and Oxford ran out worthy winners.

The BVA Ladies’ next match is on 27th February at midday against Maidenhead and Basingstoke.

First up are the NVL Ladies, who entertain Sussex Dolphins. Sussex finished 5th in last year’s Womens 3 East division, and are currently fifth in the table with 4 wins from their 10 games. As usual, warm-up starts at 12:00 with first serve at 12:30.

Also at home that day are the BVA Ladies, who host runaway BVA leaders Oxford 1 and new entrants Spelthorne. This is likely to be the team’s biggest challenge for a while, with Oxford having dropped only one set (yes, you read that right!) in their 10 games so far. Spelthorne are a more even 3-3 but remain something of an unknown quantity. The triangle starts at 16:00, with Aces playing second and third.

And finally, a reminder that the BVA mens’ match in Basingstoke has been rescheduled to Sunday 30th January at 11:00.

Good luck to both teams!

Here is the Tuesday BVA training dates at Loddon Valley till the end of the season:

04/01/2011 – 29/03/2011

12/04/2011, 19/04/2011, 03/05/2011 & 10/05/2011

Cheers

Gray