Winchester Eagles Volleyball Club

Yesterday night the Eagles Ladies had two impromptu matches in the SADVA League, stepping in for the New Forest Ambassadors who are unfortunately experiencing a Covid outbreak in their team.
The Eagles first faced SVC, a side that had just sneakily stolen a set from Roke with some aggressive serving. From the very start, the Eagles Ladies imposed their game, putting pressure on the opposition with their serves and relentless attacks. Our middle players Liv, Liz and Claire dominated the net, whilst strong hits from our wings Nina and Luuh and from our opposite Eleanna, left setter Angie spoilt for choice in her ball distribution. Some strong serves from SVC caused some trouble in the Eagles passing unit in the middle of the set, but they quickly recovered and closed the first set 21-18. In the second set, the Eagles came back even stronger, and kept a more comfortable lead, securing the set 21-14. Final score: 2-0 to the Eagles.
Roke was a stronger side to beat and they had been closely watching our game against SVC, so the Eagles decided to change their rotation and take them by surprise. Nina moved to the middle, Angie to 4 and Eleanna took on setting. This upset Roke’s plans and the Eagles easily secured the first set with a very comfortable 21-12. Roke attempted a come back in the second set and there were some really long and exhausting rallies, but the Eagles played very well as a team, persisting with some great saves and smart hits and tips, and came back on top every single time, killing all Roke’s hopes of victory. The Eagles secured the second set 21-16 to win the game 2-0.
After two 2-0 wins, a celebratory trip to the pub was the obvious choice and the Ladies headed to the Master Builder. What a great team and what a brilliant, fun-filled night. A special thanks goes to our loyal supporter Duncan, who will hopefully be joined by more Eagles fans in our future ( and not unscheduled) fixtures.
It has to be mentioned that the Eagles Ladies have now played all the teams in the SADVA League at least once, and that they are top of the league, unbeaten, with a smashing record of 4 out of 4 wins, all 2-0. Keep up the good work Ladies!

On Friday 29th October the Eagles Mixed First Team played two matches in the SADVA League against Southampton Volleyball Club Mixed Teams 1 and 2.
Captain MacKay was able to sit back and relax as the Eagles dominated both games. They first beat SVC Mixed 2 with a crushing 21-9 and 21-5 score.
The game against SVC 1 was slightly more exciting. SVC 1 did at least manage to get to double digits in the score but the Eagles still won 2-0, closing both sets with a comfortable lead (21-14 and 21-14).
Another double victory for the Eagles. Well done!

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!