Men’s Honours
Round 3 – Heidelberg (3) def Yarra Ranges (2)
In the first set the team got off to a slow start, not from bad play, just got caught napping. They quickly got firing though and some good serving and strong hitting through the middle kept us about 4 points behind through most of the set. Some strong transition kills from Luke Hill and Michael Stevens looked promising, but the end of the set came too soon.
The second set started out on even pegging. Yarra’s passing was accurate and Jason was finding many one of ones. However our block was struggling to contain the complex attack from Heidelberg and a run of service errors cost us the set.
With an obvious change in mindset, the boys jumped to an early lead in the third. Strong outside hitting from Michael and Luke, plus some great transition balls from Corey were getting everyone pumped, but the turnaround was accurate serving and blocking pressure. Yarra closed out the set quickly, trying to bring momentum into the fourth.
The fourth was definitely close, with Heidelberg again running some impressive attack, but our outside hitters matched it, hitting hard and high of hands. Nick Feeney’s added a few quick kills from behind and a number of telling defensive plays gave us a close lead. Heidelberg continued to push their attack through strong middle and fast outside balls, but Yarra’s strong passing made them try too hard on the serve and they couldn’t find the points they needed.
Yarra started slowly in the fifth, with a run of 2 passes and a few bad skill executions, but strong defence and outside hitting again got them back in the set. The two teams traded point for point, reaching 13-13. A service error and then a Heidelberg kill block came quicker than Yarra hoped, but it was pleasing to see attacking volleyball all the way till the end.
The third straight loss for the year, but hopefully this strong performance was the beginning of a turn-around in form. Definitely the strongest match so far this season. This week Yarra managed to transfer good training form, into good match form. Now the challenge is to train even better.
By Adam Weir.
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Women’s Honours
Round 3 Vs Heidelberg Won 3:1
What a difference a week (and an attitude change) can make.
We came in to this game expecting it to be a hard fought battle and this proved to be the case.
Heidelberg had recruited one of the leading National Junior players in Karly Hynes, and pairing her with Shannon Campbell (their current Outside Hitter) meant they were expected to be a very powerful hitting side.
However, our own National Junior player, Georgia Sverns, proved to be equal to the task of stopping their hitters at the net and then providing exceptional sets to our own hitters to win the rallies. All players who contested this match can rightfully claim that each one of them was “best on ground”.
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WD1 Match Report
Round 3 – Yarra Ranges (3) def Heidelberg (1)
As with our first game, once again we started short of our regular players due to school sports commitments, however we were helped out with Bindi Mullans and Nicky Bishop who did an excellent job and their presence was much appreciated by me and the girls.
Bindi was consistent through the middle and her experience helped organize front court as did Nicky in backcourt. Both girls have represented Australia and know what needs to be done to win games, this was a great opportunity for our girls to follow their example.
Amy and Josie, who turned up late due to school, had a fresh impact on the game, especially Josie with excellent line spikes from four into deep position one. Exactly what I asked to be done!
Suzi was Captain for the game, and was a go-to player, once again proving to be very reliable.
Also playing consistently and reliably was Ash with excellent set choices and serves.
Kate and Mandy were great in opposite with both girls scrambling well when needed.
Kat and Michelle once again did a great job through the middle, and Kat was a welcome surprise with some excellent serving.
It’s very easy to coach a team when all the players can do a job in any position. I’m rapt with how we are going so early in the season, I hope you all realize that you are all good players and it’s fantastic to see good players playing as a great team.
Other teams are taking notice and will prepare well to play us! Let’s make sure we’re ready for them!!!
Jon Miller – Coach
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