Tendring VC v Northampton 1:3

Tendring entered the game with confidence high lying 3^rd in Div 3 of the English National Volleyball league. The weekend triangular involving the top 3 teams was always going to be high octane and the spectators who turned up were not disappointed. Tendring started the match

against 2^nd place Northampton and were out of the blocks first and dominated the opposition with the best hitting display of the season. Linda Ziverte proved too hot to handle smacking the ball at a staggering pace scoring point after point. The north Essex team took the first set 25:13 and the game looked set for a straight sets win. However Northampton had other ideas as they mustered all their experience and started to attack the serve receive of Emily Mansfield, Vicky Leaper and Ziverte. With a drop in reception rate Hannah Robinson had to work hard to create any form of attack but once again combined well with Kat Harris who found gaps down the defensive line with hit after hit. However this did nothing to stop the onslaught as Northampton started to pull away from the girls. At 20:20 a controversial call by the ref gave advantage to the opposition and they won the set on 2 unforced errors 21:25. Liz White attacked well but made way for Kari Chase mid way through the third. Tendring didn’t give up and the 3^rd set went point for point with neither team dominating until a loss of concentration allowed Northampton 2 easy points taking the set 22:25. By now the team were feeling the depth of the oppositions experience and couldn’t respond losing the match 3:1.

Tendring VC v Cambridge 2:3

In the 2^nd match of the triangular Tendring faced league leaders Cambridge. And this proved as much as a battle as the first match. In contrast it was a completely different affair with both teams dominating the two of the first four sets each. Defensive player Gemma Harvey said “at times the Cambridge attack was unstoppable and they are easily the best the team we have played this season”. However, Cambridge looked weak in both the 2^nd and 4th sets as Tendring showed their ability to cope with the best in the league. In the 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th sets they showed their lack of experience as the league leaders ran away with the match. Coach Widlarz said after the match “This was a real lesson for the team as this is the standard we want to be playing at every weekend. It’s hard to prepare when we only have a small squad but we have made such excellent progress we can’t be disappointed with these results”