Aylesbury Vale Volleyball ClubBuckinghamshire VolleyballVolleyers lose at VK Barnet21 Nov 2007
VK Barnet 3 The Vale Volleyers lost to Barnet 3-0 last weekend. It was a closely contested game, but ultimately VK Barnet made fewer mistakes and hit well to win the game Vale started poorly in the 1st set making consistent errors on receiving the Barnet service. Setters Ellie Austin and Sara Clarke fought hard to build the Vale attack, but it is always difficult if the passing is poor and Vale never really got going. The service received improved slightly in the 2nd set with Paul Jeffrey notably passing accurately and Vale took the lead forcing poor passing from Barnet through consistantly strong service. However, Vale struggled to contend with strong hitting from the Barnet attack as they constantly managed to find gaps in the Vale defence. At 21-14 it looked like Barnet had taken hold of the game but Vale rallied and came up with the best volleyball they have produced so far this season. More good serving from everyone and some accurate hitting from Jem Clarke and Ed Ailsby had Barnet in disarray. Vale fought back hard but with the set in the balance at 24-22, a tough call of a foot fault allowed Barnet to take the 2nd set. It was a different Vale side which took to the court for the 3rd set. Spirit was up and the performance improved dramatically. Middle blockers Phill Mould and Sam Winterson positioned themselves well in defence forcing Barnet into making errors as they searched for a new atack strategy. However, more poor passing meant that Vale could not really get going in attack and Barnet were able to grind out a victory. The team were disappointed with this result. However, the service looked very strong and as the match went on the defence improved no end. However, without a good pass to the setters it is always going to be difficult to win a game as you can not build an attack. Vale will look to imporve on this for the next match. Team: Sara Clarke, Jem Clarke, Phill Mould(c), Sam Winterson, Paul Jeffrey, Kevin Pistak, Ellie Austin Most Valuable Player: Paul Jeffrey |