Sitting News at Ashcombe

Ashcombe Based Team Surrey Gators Win London Sitting League

Details: Category: Sitting News at Ashcombe; Published on Thursday, 16 February 2012 15:48; Written by Freda Bussey

Sunday 6^th February was the final round of matches for the inaugural London Sitting Volleyball League (LSVL). This new competition set up in this Paralympic Games year was designed to complement the Volleyball England Grand Prix Series and provide some additional competition for the 3 teams based in and around London both to help the teams continue their impressive recent development but also give the Great Britain Players some additional matches in preparation for the WOVD Inter Continental Cup in Cairo at the end of February.

The day was thrown into question by the bad weather but all baring a few players managed to get to Roehampton University for what have been talked about for some time, the deciding day of the LSVL!

With 5 out of the 9 matches going to 5 sets and a 3-2 victory the competition was well fought through-out. In the middle round of matches London Malory came back from losing both their matches in December to win both of their matches in January, that put all 3 teams on 2 Wins and 2 Losses, but with East London Lynx losing both their matches 3-2 they were one point ahead going into the final day of competition.

In the first match London Malory took on East London Lynx in one of the games of the competition with both teams contesting well at the net showing great variations of attacking play which was often equalled by high level defence. Richard Dobell used his hitters well through-out and James Roberts dominated the back court well as Libero. The match was won in the 5^th set but some great serving from Ashley Trodden and Malory Eagles ended up winning 3-2 (17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-27, 15-9).

The second match of the day was actually a re-match of the 2010-11 Grand Prix Final and the score line matched it as well with Surrey Gators winning 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-14). Lynx had a strong start to Set 2 and were close to pulling the match level at 1:1 with some good all round play from Muzaffar Jabber and John Munro but Surrey pulled the set back and played the big points at the end well through some excellent attacking from Charlie Walker and Andrea Green.

So it all came down to the final match of Malory Eagles and Surrey Gators. The winner would finish 1^st and the losers position would depend on what their losing score was. The first set started at a fast pace with both teams working hard to win the points. Jess O’Brien and Justin Phillips attacked from all positions well from the start and had some joy with wiping of the big Gators block. Surrey gradually worked their way into the match and took control by the 1^st Technical Time Out, cheered on by their fans they pushed on through some excellent serving from Rob Richardson to win the first set 25-11. The 2^ndset was alot closer and Malory pushed Surrey right to the end however some excellent Gators defence by Netra Rana and Sanne Bakker kept the point ticking over to end up 25-20. The 3^rd set was a very tense affair with both teams scrambling around trying to get a grip on the set but in the end Surrey managed to slip ahead to win the 3^rd set, the match and the competition.

It is often said as a joke, but with the LSVL, the sport of Sitting Volleyball really was the winner... The level of volleyball played was some of the highest played in Great Britain in recent years and it showed the promise that is ahead for the teams and players involved.

A big thank you must go to Charlie Orton who supported the addition of this new competition and to the coaches from all 3 clubs as well as of course, the players involved.

London League Wins for Ashcombe's Surrey Gators

Details: Category: Sitting News at Ashcombe; Published on Tuesday, 06 December 2011 11:10; Written by Freda Bussey

The inaugural London Sitting Volleyball League took place this weekend at the home of the Great Britain Sitting Volleyball teams, Roehampton University. With the three London based teams coming together over a series of days from December to February, with on each day, all teams playing each other in five set matches to determine the winner. The competition is set to be a hotly contested one as it includes the two finalists from the 2010-11 Volleyball England Grand Prix Series and the newly formed London Malory Eagles Sitting Volleyball team, all fighting it out to decide who will become the first ever London Sitting Volleyball Champions.

With the clubs containing their own regular club members as well as other invited members from the Great Britain Squads, it is looking to establish a London competition that both provides additional matches to the clubs involved as well as increase the number of matches in England in this pre-Paralympic year.

The first match was a classic and hopefully set the tone for the whole competition with Surrey Gators coming from two sets down to beat East London Lynx. Lynx started off strong with some great play at the net from Captain Anton Raimondo and Muzaffar Jabber but Gators started to dominate from the service line with particularly strong service runs coming from Isabelle Collot and Emma Wiggs and managed to pull the game level by winning some close sets in three and four. Gators then started well in the fifth set and managed to side out despite a spirited comeback from Lynx to win the set 15-7.

The second match of the day was equally as exciting with London Malory playing their first ever competitive match, and going set for set with Lynx but then losing the fifth set by four points. Lynx dominated the first set with Vicky Widdup passing well and setter Karen Hung spraying the ball around to all hitters but Malory responded well with Justin Phillips stepping up and leading his team to the second set with some strong play across all areas of his game. Lynx then bounced back to control the third set through some strong blocking by John Worrall and some excellent serving from Martine Wright, however Malory were determined not to be beaten and Jess O’Brien stepped up with some excellent attacking play to take the match into a fifth set. The teams both went point for point before Lynx took control towards the end and came through to win 15-11.

The third and final match of the day was between Surrey Gators and Malory Eagles, and with the teams merging for the Grand Prix Series this was always going to be a hotly contested match for a number of reasons. Surrey pushed on, refreshed from their game off and Andrea Green had a great run of serves to build a lead that they managed to take through to win the first set. The second set was a similar story despite some good combinations between fellow Welsh players Olga Jegorova, Amy Brierly and James Roberts for Malory. The third set was a lot closer and the teams went point for point until Gators took control at the net with some great passing and setting from Sanne Bakker, to eventually win the set and the match 27-25.

The next round of matches are planned for January so now the focus turns to the Volleyball England Grand Prix Series this coming weekend. Thanks to all for contributing to the day, especially to London Volleyball and Charlie Orton for their support and guidance in making this happen – a great day was had by all, with some fantastically competitive matches through the day showing off where Sitting Volleyball is now in this country.

Sitting Grand Prix success for Gators

Details: Category: Sitting News at Ashcombe; Published on Tuesday, 01 November 2011 16:59; Written by Freda Bussey

Gators and Eagles beat East London Lynx 2-0 Battleback 2-0 , Simpsons 2-0 and Wales 2-0 to lead the competition in the first Grand Prix of the season.

Sitting Grand Prix table 30th October 2011

1st	Gators & Eagles	20
2nd	East London Lynx	18
3rd	Battleback	16
4th	FDSW Celtic Dragons	14
5th	Portsmouth	12
6th	Lincoln Imps	10
7th	Essex Pirates	8
8th	Loughborough Lions	6
9th	Kent Wyvern	4

More Sitting Success for Surrey Gators

Details: Category: Sitting News at Ashcombe; Published on Tuesday, 22 November 2011 08:18; Written by Freda Bussey

Surrey Gators won all 4 matches at their home Grand Prix on Sunday 20th November. In the second Grand Prix of the season the Ashcombe based team were unbeatable, winning all 4 matches 2-0.

Results from The Honesty Games 25th September 2011

Details: Category: Sitting News at Ashcombe; Published on Thursday, 29 September 2011 11:51; Written by Freda Bussey

East London Lynx ended up winning the competition beating both Surrey Gators and the latest Sitting Club in Malory Eagles in Division 1. Game of the day was down in Division 3 though where Kent Wyverns beat a youthful Loughborough Lions side. In Division 2 Battleback came through victorious despite some promising performances by Lincoln Imps and F.D.S.W. Celtic Dragons.

For the sitting teams, their attention now turns to the Volleyball England Grand Prix Series which is scheduled to start on Sunday 30^th October at Kettering.

Results

Final Standings

1^st East London Lynx

2^nd Malory Eagles

3^rd Surrey Gators

4^th Battleback

5^th Portsmouth

6^th F.D.S.W. Celtic Dragons

7^th Lincoln Imps

8^th Kent Wyverns

9^th Loughborough Lions

Total points won in Round 1

Pool A	Malory Eagles	179
	Lincoln Imps	85
	Portsmouth	84
Pool B	Surrey Gators	143
	Battleback	110
	Loughborough Lions	84
Pool C	East London Lynx	174
	Celtic Dragons	93
	Kent Wyverns	85

Division 1 Results

Surrey Gators 0 – Malory Eagles 3 (23-25, 20-25, 17-25)

Surrey Gators 0 – East London Lynx 3 (20-25, 17-25, 14-25)

Malory Eagles 0 – East London Lynx 3 (23-25, 18-25, 20-25)

Division 2 Results

Lincoln Imps 0 – Battleback 3 (16-25, 14-25, 19-25)

F.D.S.W. Celtic Dragons 1 - Battleback 3 (25-12, 15-25, 10-25, 18-25)

F.D.S.W. Celtic Dragons 0 – Lincoln Imps 3 (25-23, 29-27, 25-16)

Division 3 Results

Portsmouth 3 – Loughborough Lions 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-14)

Kent Wyverns 3 – Loughborough Lions 2 (25-11, 24-26, 25-19, 23-25, 15-11)

Portsmouth – Kent Wyverns (25-16, 25-18, 25-22)

Classification Matches

F.D.S.W. Celtic Dragons 1 – Portsmouth 2 (16-25, 25-23, 21-25)

Surrey Gators 3 – Battleback 1 (25-23, 25-14, 20-25, 25-18)

Most Honest Team Award – nominated by 3 teams... was Loughborough Lions, winning a box of Heros Chocolates!

Next Super 8 Match

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