Aylesbury Vale Volleyball Club

Match Report: Watford, Home 13th November 2005

3-1 win: 25-20, 25-20, 11-25, 25-23

Team : Bruce Archibald, Chris Seal (Capt), Ivan Dunleavy, Jafar Faroughi, Jonathan Glenn, Neil Bennett, Nicolas Lasbistes & Tim Chandler; Coach: Nigel Collins

Team thanks to Steve Smith (first referee), Nigel Collins (second referee), Susi Ebert & Rebecca Little (scorers)

Aylesbury Vale Volleyball Club gained revenge for its only defeat of the season so far by beating Watford 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 11-25, 25-23) in its home fixture at Halton. Vale now tops the Herts Volleyball League Division 2 with 3 wins out of 4. Utility hitter Neil Bennett was the coach's most valuable player for his consistency, but once again there was an all-round team contribution to Vale's win from a strong squad.

The match was almost abandoned due to missing equipment but eventually commenced with a jury-rigged training net. Vale surged into an early lead and closed out the first game comfortably 25-20. For Vale, setters Nicolas Lasbistes and Jonathan Glenn made the best of an inconsistent feed from the passing unit. After a long interval whilst the proper match net was put up, consistent serving pressure by Neil Bennett took Vale to a 12-1 lead in the second game. Although Watford came back, Vale again cruised to an easy win. As Vale continued to give substitutes court time, Watford exploited the lack of cohesion and quickly took the third game 25-11. Vale reverted to its starting six for the fourth, took an early small lead and ground out a final 25-23 win.

Set 1 rotation (1 to 6): Neil (MB), Chris (OH), Nicolas (S), Tim (MB), Bruce (OH), Jonathan (S).

Set 2 rotation (1 to 6): Jonathan (S), Neil (MB), Chris (OH), Nicolas (S), Ivan (MB), Jafar (OH).

Set 3 rotation (1 to 6): Tim (MB), Bruce (OH), Nicolas (S), Ivan (MB), Jafar (OH), Jonathan (S).

Set 4 rotation (1 to 6): Jonathan (S), Neil (MB), Chris (OH), Nicolas (S), Tim (MB), Bruce (OH).

Nigel.