News and Announcements

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Another glorious double win for the Winchester Eagles Ladies Team in the SADVA League last night.
The Ladies first faced Roke, who had a number of very experienced and strong players. However, the Eagles neutralised them from the very first serve and dominated the game, easily winning it 2-0 thanks to smart attacks, aggressive serving and great passing.
The second game was against New Forest and again the Eagles won both sets quite comfortably thanks to great team work. Everyone played incredibly well, immediately adapted to new positions on court and supported each other at every stage of the game.
The Ladies remain undefeated and top of the SADVA league. A brilliant way to conclude 2021. Celebratory drinks at the local pub were duly attended and more cheering will take place tonight at the club Christmas social.
A huge thank you to our coach David for coming to support us.

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A great day at HVA today for the Winchester Eagles Ladies’ Team. Three games, all taken to three sets and some truly amazing volleyball.The Eagles had a tough start, with their setter dropping out last minute due to injury. Fab had to stand in, despite having an injured finger herself and what a fabulous job she did. Her sets were steady and consistent and her ball distribution great. Definitely MVP for the day. For the first game, the opposition was a tough one: Southampton Volleyball Club. Not only did they bring in their Div 3 National League Players, half of the team was made up of their Div 2 NVL players. SVC took the first set rather easily while the Eagles were finding their feet but the Eagles were not going to let them take the game without putting up a fight. And what a spectacular fight it was! The Eagles Ladies fought point after point, putting SVC under great pressure with strong serves and relentless attacks, both front court and back court and they took the second set. It started to look a bit embarrassing for SVC and they were very nervous when the Eagles came incredibly close to winning the tie break. Unfortunately, SVC ended up winning the third set (helped by distracted scorers that forgot to give the Eagles a point at the 10-10 crucial moment). The Eagles were defeated but could proudly hold their heads high.The next game was against Southampton University Volleyball Team. The Eagles took the first set easily but SUVC fought back and took the second set. The tie break was very close but unluckily the Eagles lost by a handful of points.The last game against Guernsey ladies was again very tight. It ended at the tie break and the Eagles, after a shaky start, had a great come back, really supporting each other through the rough patches and ending up only a couple of points behind.Despite the disappointing final scores, the Ladies showed great team work, resilience and determination. The team is growing stronger after each game and results are sure to follow soon. Watch this space.

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On Sunday 21st November, our juniors competed in their first ever volleyball tournament, taking part in the Hampshire Volleyball Association Junior Grand Prix in Fareham. The juniors’ uptake for the competition was incredible and the Eagles were able to enter three teams in the Under 14s category and two teams in the Under 12s. With a contingent of 20 players across five teams, the Winchester Eagles were the Club with the highest number of athletes competing, a great achievement for a volleyball club that has only started its junior sessions a few weeks ago.
The Eagles’ accomplishments, however, did not stop there. Coaches Andy, Angie, Robin and Saffi felt extremely proud of all our junior players, who displayed great skills, team spirit and resilience in all their games and fought on undeterred even when facing more experienced players who had been training together for years.
A special mention goes to our mixed Under 12s team, who took everyone by surprise and took home the gold, coming first in their category. What a smashing start of the season and what a success for such young players who have only just started playing volleyball.
All our athletes performed incredibly well throughout the day. Each team consisted of four players and played six games against teams from other Hampshire clubs, including Portchester, South Hants and Farnborough. Our juniors even learnt some refereeing skills, as they were called to score, line judge and referee other teams’ games.
Our club coaches’ award went to Peter, who displayed great team spirit by constantly encouraging his team mates during their games not only when they scored points but also when they made mistakes.
Finally, a huge THANK YOU to all the parents and carers who not only drove our juniors all the way to Fareham but also stayed on to cheer them on and support them.
The juniors section of the Winchester Eagles Volleyball Club is growing fast and is very promising. Our athletes are training hard week after week and are continually improving their skills. We look forward to seeing them compete again in January in the next HVA Junior Grand Prix.

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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!

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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!