Mens Division 2

First victim/worthy opponent was Farnborough. Squad for this game was Dave, Luciano, Geoff, Tom, Matt, Chris (Brown), Jen, Lucas, Martyn. It was a hard-fought game, but Aces won the first set relatively easily (25-16). Hawks fought back hard in the second set and sneaked past the finishing line 29-27.  The third set went our way 15-11.

Having disposed of our first opponent, the second lamb to the slaughter/worthy opponent was Oxford Uni. Lucas had to leave for work, so that put us one middle down. Another change was to put Jen in as libero, a role in which she acquitted herself very well. The first, closely-fought, set went our way 25-21. The second set was rather more one-sided, with the Uni winning it easily 25-13. Matt also tried to knock some sense into Dave/managed to serve one straight onto Dave’s head (we’ll see over the course of next week if it’s had any effect. -Ed.) Aces did not give up though, and a see-saw third set finally saw Aces triumph 19-17.

With Newbold defaulting last week, this leaves both Aces teams top of the table – surely an unprecedented situation!

BVA Men’s next fixture is on 13th November in Aldershot, again against Farnborough and Maidenhead Mens 2, starting at 11am in Aldershot Garrison.

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.

Our NVL Ladies team is in action in Bristol for what could already be the championship decider. The match, at Clifton College Sports Centre, is a triangular match between the hosts (Bristol), Reading Aces and near-rivals (both geographically and competitively) Oxford Students and gives Aces the chance to put an almost-impossible gap between them and one of their nearest rivals.

Bristol are fifth in the table and have 23 points from 11 games, with a 6-5 record. Oxford are third in the table with 28 points from 10 games but have only been beaten once (by Aces back in October). Aces will be looking to regain first place from Guildford, and hold a one-point advantage over Oxford but have also played one game more.  The match starts at 11:30 but Aces are playing second and third.

Our BVA Men are also in action this Sunday, at home against Reading  University and Oxford Mens 1. Our men’s team’s only two wins so far this season have both come at the expense of the thus-far winless University team, and Aces will be looking to complete the trio of wins for the season.

Oxford Men are a different proposition, being the holders of a (so far) 6-2 record. Still, you can only play what’s put in front of you and hopefully Aces can give Oxford a good test. The game starts at 4pm in Kendrick School and any and all support is more than welcome!

Good luck to both teams.

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.

There is not much recent form to go on against Basingstoke as they have only played four games so far, but Coach Fox and the squad will be out for revenge against the Lions, having lost in a fairly close game at Loddon Valley earlier in the season.

The Reading University team are so far the only winless team in the league, one of their four defeats coming against us in our first match of the season.

If anyone fancies a short trip down the A33 to support the lads, the match starts at 11:00 on Sunday at Queen Mary’s College, 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!