Winchester Eagles Volleyball Club

What an amazing day of volleyball for the Winchester Eagles today at the HVA Mixed Grand Prix!
The Eagles stormed the tournament with three teams and took the gold.
All three Eagles teams played exceptionally well, displaying not only extraordinary volleyball skills but also tremendous team spirit.
We had a mixture of younger and more experienced players and we were really pleased to see how much our youngsters progressed throughout the day – some of them playing in new positions.
We were also very proud of our more mature players that lasted the whole day without subs or breaks in a tournament where playing is followed by reffing and on to the next game without respite – a real challenge on players’ level of fitness and overall form.
A great result for our growing club that is definitely becoming more and more prominent on the Hampshire volleyball scene. Well played everyone! Don’t forget to do some stretching or you’ll regret it tomorrow…

Today, 20th March, the Eagles Ladies Team competed in the last fixture of the Hampshire Volleyball Association League. With Salisbury Ladies unable to field a team for the day, the Winchester Eagles only had two games instead of the usual three but they were going to be key ones.
They first faced the Southampton Volleyball Club team, which at that point were still first in the league. The Eagles secured the game with a very convincing 2-0. This opened the way to qualifying for the South East Volleyball Association, especially after SVC were beaten also by Guernsey Ladies. All of a sudden, anything could happen.
After reffing, the Eagles faced SUVC. This proved to be a very tough and tight game, with both teams trading points and winning one set each. The tie break was going to be the decider. The Eagles put up a superb fight and lost by only two points.
In a league where every set and every point counts, the Ladies were rewarded for their hard work: they came second in the league and therefore are through to the regionals. What an achievement for such a newly formed team. On 14th May they will be competing against the best teams in the South East in Dorking.
The winners of the HVA League, Guernsey Ladies, invited the Eagles to play a friendly. Once again, the Winchester Ladies proved they belong right at the top, trading point on point against the champions. The match ended as a draw (one set all) for lack of time but the Guernsey Coach was overheard telling his players the Eagles are the ones to watch next season. Exciting times! Well done ladies!

Today, Saturday 12th March our Juniors made yet another trip to Cams Hill School in Gosport for the third Hampshire Volleyball Association Junior Grand Prix. The Eagles took part with three teams: an Under 14 Girls’ Team, an Under 14 Boys’ Team and an Under 12s Mixed Team, with a total of 15 players taking part.Our young athletes competed against clubs from all over Hampshire, including South Hants, New Forest and Farnborough. Our coaches Andy and Angie were once again very impressed by the quick progress made by all players. Great improvements were noticed not only compared to the Eagles’ performance in the last Junior HVA Grand Prix a couple of months ago, but also throughout the day. With every game played, our Eaglets grew stronger, more confident and more aggressive in their serves and attacks. The hard work done at training in the last few weeks on defence and serve receive also paid off, with our pass getting better with every set and more and more calls for the ball heard on court.There were moments of brilliance, with serving aces, three touches building up an attack, blocking, and even linking and rescuing the ball. Great volleyball skills all around. It was great to see the teams gelling, players encouraging and supporting each other, awesome team spirit and a good dose of resilience when playing against more experienced sides.Our Most Valuable Player award today went to Erwann for a superb overall performance and for his positive attitude.A big thank you to all the parents for making the trip and coming to support our Juniors. We look forward to seeing you all again at the next HVA Junior Grand Prix on 22nd May.

On a rainy Friday evening the Eagles showed up at Woodlands Community College with full strength and a full squad. Angie won our ‘coin’ toss as an unorthodox rock, paper, scissor game against the first opposition, Roke. On the whistle, Liz served strongly, leading the Eagles to win the first point. Despite some questionable digs and covering, Tara managed to put up some sets thanks to her amazing movement, and the Eagles secured a nice lead. Claire supported the team, giving super tips to the players and a consistent performance through middle, meaning the team secured the first set.
In the second set, the Eagles stopped flying but still remained high in the sky, securing it with a tight 23-21 victory.

Onto the second game, after a short rest of reffing, the Eagles flew onto court to tackle New Forest. With a completely different energy, the Eagles kept a high performance throughout the whole game. Lou, our opposite, took a chance with a great set to Angie who finished an outstanding point. Cheering and encouraging chants made the difference to take the Eagles to a comfortable 21-14 victory. In the second set, Tara came in. On this occasion our setter, Tara, showed great skills as opposite with consistent hits and getting up for the block whilst covering the sets when our setter, Fab, was taken out. Beth and Liv played a strong game, with Beth covering every inch of the back court and Liv securing the final point with a sublime back court hit, leaving the score at 21-12.

Throughout, the bench showed superb support, mostly Vicky shouting alongside Paul with his fingers in his ears – when she wasn’t on court smashing through four. An excellent game played by all players where everyone contributed to the team, the dream, unbeaten team.

On Friday 18th February, despite storm Eunice battering the country, the Winchester Eagles braved the motorway and headed to Southampton to play two games in the SADVA League.
They first faced New Forest Volleyball club, a young team with some talented and promising players but the Eagles didn’t give the youngsters any chances. With their aggressive serves, clever attacks and reliable defence, the Eagles easily took the first set and New Forest did not even get to double figures.
In the second set, the Eagles continued to dominate and played very consistently, allowing all players to come on court without any hiccups. The game was sweet and short, with a very convincing 2-0 score.
The second game was against Southampton Volleyball Club. The Eagles were in for an easy win and they took advantage to try players in different positions.
It is not always easy to play well against a weaker team and the Eagles perhaps got a bit too relaxed. The passing was a bit under par at times and it took a whole set to manage the tandem “Mango” combination. Still, they finally succeeded and coach David should be proud. It was again a 2-0 victory.
The ladies remain top of the SADVA League. UNDEFEATED.
Drinks at the local pub followed as always, with a big cheer to Liv who could not be there tonight because she was celebrating her birthday. Happy Birthday Liv!