Winchester Eagles Volleyball Club

Yesterday, the Winchester Eagles Ladies played their first three matches in the Hampshire Volleyball Association Grand Prix in Gosport.
Their first game was against a very experienced team – The Golden Ladies. The Eagles put up a very good fight but unluckily lost both sets by a handful of points.
In the second game, the Eagles Ladies upped their game and greatly improved their performance. However, they were facing a stronger opposition – Salisbury Ladies – a team made up of players from several clubs. Unfortunately, the Eagles lost both sets again by a just few points. Despite the defeat, they came away from the game aware that they were playing better and better and were really starting to gel as a team, so the vibe was positive during the refereeing break.
The great team building paid off in the last game. The Eagles Ladies were not going to head home without a victory and they comfortably took both sets against a strong South Hants Ladies team, dominating the game thanks to aggressive serving, smart hitting and great ball distribution by the Eagles new setter.
It was amazing to see how quickly and how much the team grew in just one day of volleyball. Considering that half of the team was playing out of position because of a very limited roster and that quite a few players had never played together in a match before, this Eagles Ladies team looks very promising. The girls certainly stand a very good chance to climb their way back up to the top of the league where they belong. Watch this space!

As the saying goes “Remember, remember the fifth of November”. Well, it will certainly be remembered for the Eagles, as history was created when the men’s second team played their first ever match! Not only that, but it was the first time in the club’s history that the two of the club’s teams had played against each other in the Men’s SADVA League!

Straightaway, there were rockets fired by Samay Limbu and Jake Jones for the second team. However, it was the first team who took the upper hand by winning the first set.

In the second set, there was some explosive blocking by George Henderson and Scott Butler, but it wasn’t enough to stop the first team winning the second set, leaving the second team’s hopes of their first match win burning on the pyre – the final score 2 sets to 0.

However, celebratory fireworks weren’t out of the question yet: the second team still had a match to play against New Forest Ambassadors. This was proving to be a baptism of fire for the second team though, as this was also New Forest’s first team!

The Eagles started with a bang with some excellent hits from Christian Whitlinghum and Marat Vasfiev; and Setter Julio Robles showed some flare with a deceptive dump set, but once again, it was the opponent who took the first set.

Despite being a set down, the Eagles’ spark refused to be extinguished with Libero Freddie Lock commanding backcourt and Captain Nikesh Gurung taking strong leadership, which helped set up a fantastic attack for Middle Ayush Gurung. Regardless of this, their efforts to win the set and stay in the game proved to be in vein and The Ambassadors came away the victory winning 2-0.

The second team can hold their head up high, knowing that they gave it their all against experienced opponents. They made their coach Robin Hunt proud by learning a new rotation in only a few days and are developing fast – there is a bright future ahead for these Guys!

What a start of the season for our Eagles Ladies! Yesterday night, they had their first two games in the SADVA League, facing first the Southampton Volleyball Club Team and then the New Forest Volleyball Club Team.
The first set was tight, with both teams treading points but the Eagles prevailed 21-18 thanks to great team work in the passing unit and consistent aggressive serves with virtually no errors. In the second set, the Eagles were unstoppable. They took an early lead and closed the set with a decisive 21-13. A mention of merit goes to our new young setter, who distributed the ball incredibly well and kept the team steady through the hardest rallies. Lots of our players had to play in new positions because of our reduced roster and we are pleased to announce that we have discovered some truly amazing new middles!!! Final score: 2-0 to the Eagles.
After a shaky start in the first few points, the second game was quite relaxed, with the Eagles dominating the match. This allowed for our newer players to make their debut and we were very impressed by how easily they slid into their roles.
An incredibly tall middle blocker on the New Forest side was no match for our very smart hitters, who kept on scoring point after point with a mixture of hard hits and cleverly placed balls. Final score: 2-0 to the Eagles. Again.
We have high hopes for the season ahead for this newly-formed Eagles Ladies. They have skills, they have heart, they stay united through good and hard times, they fight for every ball. They play like champions!
Let’s go ladies, let’s bring home more and more victories and, most of all, let’s all have fun playing volleyball!

Dear all,

Hampshire Volleyball Association has been liaising with Volleyball England to bring a Level 1 Assistant Coach Award coaching course to Hampshire.

There is currently have a provisional date of 4 Dec 21, with 2 evening webinars, details as below,

Webinar 1: 16/11/2021 19:00-20:00

Webinar 2: 30/11/2021 19:00-20:30

Practical Day: 04/12/2021 09:00-17:00 – Cams Hill School, Shearwater Avenue, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 8AH.

We have a limit of 16 participants for the course (cost is ~£150), so please email hampshirevolleyball@gmail.com as soon as possible with your email address and VEU number (VE’s website, www.volleyzone.co.uk, with free registration), if you are interested and can attend on these dates.

Even if you are not able to attend on this occasion, please provide your contact details, so that we can contact you the next time a course place becomes available.

From the HVA Committee

The Men’s 1st team have their first local league match this evening! Come along and show your support!

Details can be found on the calendar section of TeamPages.

The Schedule of play is as follows:

19:00 vs Roke Polonia
20:00 Referee
21:00 vs New Forest Academy – Then pub!

The address is:

Woodlands Community College
Minstead Avenue
Southampton
SO18 5FX

See you there!