Hatfield Hornets win first match!
......such a fantastic game we have not one, but *two* match reports!!
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From the scorer: Well Hatfield Hornets got off to a winning start. A 3-1 win is just what Hatfield needed to get the season off to a good start. Right from the warm up the team were focused on giving 100% to the game. Set one got off to a flying start with Hatfield taking a 13-3 lead. Was this the sign of things to come. No. Harriers fought back bravely with some excellent serving and ball control. Hatfield however kept their cool and after some hard but good basic volleyball closed out the set to win 25-23. Despite some very basic serving errors from both teams the second set was an even better set to watch than the first. Both teams matching each other point for point, and after 22 minutes of hard work Hatfield finished the set as winners by 26 points to 24. Here it is. The first game of the season and it is going to be a 3-0. What a start......Unfortunately Harriers never read the script and through some excellent serving, ball control and their ever present desire not to let the ball hit the floor Harriers won the third set 25-23, to take the game into a fourth set. Set four was by far the easiest set for Hatfield throughout the entire game. Through consistent serving and actually thinking about playing the right ball at the right time they romped to a 10 point lead. Harriers by this point had looked as if they had given up and Hatfield took advantage of this. They stepped up the pressure and eventually finished the set 25-13. Although there were a few areas of the game that Hatfield need to work on this was an excellent game and if they take the same attitude and commitment into each game Hatfield could do very well this season. However, this is only game one and there is still a long way to go. Star Player has to go to Marco who made a guest appearance and as always was Mr Safe hands. *Bob, for what was the first time for me, made some excellent choices in his passing/attacking of the ball. The setters for most of the game commanded their side of the court and looked as if they were actually talking to each other. Well done to the whole team, in particular to Richard, who as the new captain of the team, guided them to their first victory. - Steve *Webmaster's translation: Bob, who's usually cr*p, didn't do too badly. |
From the Captain: How quickly does a league season come around? It didn't seem long ago that we were finishing off last season but here we were off again. The same squad has returned for another season with the Hatfield team and whilst Roy and Sylvester couldn't play in the opener we were lucky enough that Marco on a trip back from Italy could join us instead! First of all, we have to pay credit to Harriers Hawks who played really well and made it an excellent match - thanks guys! The first set started as a nip and tuck affair until our rotation led to Marco's serve where we built a solid lead based on well placed serving, this lead was then successfully defended despite a good comeback by Hawks, the highlight for me was the consistently good setting allowing us to hit our way to closing out the set 25-23, we were even treated to a great left handed spike by Bob - I'm starting to think he's ambidextrous! The second set was again close with Hatfield building small leads but always being pegged back and it took a solid serving effort by Phil to see us home 26-24. The start of the third set was a fast one for Hatfield with Laurence placing her serves excellently, we took the lead and maintained it all the way to the twenties in a close set characterised by some excellent defensive play by both sides. Hawks though, closed out the tightest of sets for a deserved 25-23 win to take us into a fourth set. The fourth set saw some more changes to the starting rotation, Phil completed a full house by moving to outside after sets 2 and 3 at setter and middle respectively and Rich came into the middle to try and threaten Hawks more with the block. The changes worked as Hatfield came out firing and after 3 service rotations led 16-4. This was a lead we wouldn't lose as the most controlled play of the evening from us closed out the set 25-11. From a captain's perspective, this was a great start to the season and I was encouraged by the enthusiasm of the team. We have settled quickly into our team patterns and I look forward to the league season ahead. My man of the match is Marco with his consistent hitting providing us with a great out-ball whenever we needed it though great to see others playing to the best of their abilities too. Many thanks to Mike and Steve for officiating, much appreciated as always. - Rich |
MK City impervious to Wasps' stings!
Despite a spirited fight back towards the end of the first and third set it was a dominant MK City that secured the win in Wasps first home game of theseason.
It was good to see 9 players available for a home game which gave plenty of options and these had to be utilized during the tough match, however as a welcome to the first division MK City provided some excellent pick ups and setting and combined with their overall height advantage they where able to exploit Wasps lack of div 1 match play.
Hard work, some great pick ups and nice basic volleyball (the old dig-set-spike!) meant Wasps did make a game of it, however even when MK City did not attack as well we still managed to throw away the second set and even encountered four or five self inflicted rotational faults in a row.
All in all a good match with some areas to work on but plenty of positive things to take away. Special thanks to Sarah, Garath and Phil for helping officiate under difficult conditions i.e. no score sheet or scoreboard!!
- Carl
* Webmaster's comment: I 2nd ref'ed MK City's match v VK Barnet, and they took VK to a close 5 sets - so managing any sort of fight against them must be something to be proud of! Onwards and upwards guys!
Hornets beat Vale Volleyers 3-1
So, is 3-1 to be a common score this season? Hornets maintained their good start to the season consolidating their opening victory of the season with another over the Volleyers. With illness and injury taking out three of the regular squad members the match day squad was together for the first time but most definitely proved it should not be the last. Thanks to Jerry who came along to make his league debut for WHVC.
This was a match were throughout the destiny of the result was always in the hands of the Hornets. Our general team play was solid and with super setting throughout both Lynne and Richard had some fun hitting from the outside position. Bob & Phil certainly provided variety of attack from the middle position as well. However, basic errors are something we need to eliminate from our play as the season progresses. We went down in the first set 25-23 and at least 10-12 of the points that went to Vale came from Hornet mistakes - our serving as a team was inconsistent and we did not get our communication right resulting in some soft points conceded.
From the captain's perspective it was great to see not one head go down after the first set. The team took confidence from the way we played and started to eliminate the mistakes and Sets 2 and 3 had some of the best volleyball we could play. We can still be a bit more aggressive in finishing off points as throughout the match the Volleyers defended capably and consistently. Communication continually got better as we listened to each other we found the gaps in the opposition defence more regularly. In each set we built a good lead early and maintained or stretched that in Sets 2-4 with the memories of Set 1 still there. My Star Man for the match was Bob who served very well, especially at the start of the second set to give us momentum we never then lost, his placing was exquisite and some of the serves unreturnable. Honourable mentions must go to the whole team with Phil in the unfamiliar middle position and all the setters providing great attacking ball for us glory boys in the outside spiking channel!
Thanks to the Volleyers for a good match played in a fun spirit and to the admirable officials Guy and Rob. Great to see Roy again and thanks for providing the support from the sidelines. I look forward to the team taking the confidence into the next home match on 29 November versus the Jets.
- Richard
Hornets lose to Jets 1-3
Yet again, the scoreline of 3-1 was the result from another Jets match this season. Unfortunately, this time it was not the Jets that came out on top but a strong and consistent Jets side. The match was competitive the whole way through and the difference betwen the two sides was the number of soft points lost....the team need to continue to work on their basic positioning and reducing service errors - an area where none were more culpable than the captain.
The first set saw a breathtaking start from the Jets with us racing to a substantial lead in the first 10 points before the set evened out, there was some excellent attacking and defensive play from both sides. The Jets closed down the gap and eventually took the lead which the Jets could not reel back in as the set went to the Jets 25-22. The set was noticeable for some long runs of points on serves, none better than Laurences excellent serving midway through the set.
Jets did not get the explosive start of the first set in the second and soon found themselves a few points down, despite a strong effort throughout the entire set the basic errors handicapped us. Our general court play was excellent and our fleet of setters were giving Richard and Gareth plenty of attacking opportunities in the outside channel. As the set was lost 25-21 our heads were a little down with the frustration of the basic errors.
After a rousing team talk, thanks to Steve for his help too the Jets came out at the start of the third set with the intention of changing the direction of the match. Volleyball player Bob seemed to have been replaced by Cheerleader Bob and every point gained was celebrated with real gusto - if anyone gets Bob in the Secret Santa please buy him some pom-poms!! The Jets managed to chisel out the early lead only for the Jets to come back and build up a good position at 20-17 before the Jets really began to fly and solid serving by Bob saw us over the line with a 25-23 victory. The whole side played brilliantly with good blocking pressure and attacking play...thanks to Laurence from me for some excellent sets allowing me to kill a few spikes consistently!
Fair play to the Jets though, after the storm of the third set they came back out vey focussed and never allowed us to really get back into our rhythm and won the set comfortably. It was great to be able to give Simon his league debut in the set and he showed some promise and general understanding of the middle position.
My Star Player for the game is Laurence - I've already mentioned her excellent serves, the short ones the Jets really struggled to come to terms with but her setting was first rate too. I probably had my best hitting match of the season so far (plenty of room for improvement I know!) and behind every good attack is a good group of setters which she led admirably!
Finally, at the end of the match it was revealed that the Jets had been in breach of the league rules! For much of the match we had 7 players on court as Laurence announced she was pregnant and had played her last match of the season! On behalf of the team and the club we offer many congratulations! She will most definitely be missed by the the team....as a setter she has come on in leaps and bounds the last couple of years and is also a great team player! The squad have a huge gap to fill! We wish you all the best and look forward to seeing some photos come late-May, early June!
Set 1: Gareth, Olga, Bob, Rich, Laurence, SylvesterSet 1: Gareth, Phil, Bob, Rich, Laurence (Jerry), SylvesterSet 1: Gareth, Olga (Sylvester), Bob, Rich, Laurence, PhilSet 1: Gareth, Olga, Bob (Simon), Rich, Jerry, Sylvester
Richard
Wasps v MK City 15th March
This was an absolutely astonishing match - an utterly brilliant performance from Welwyn Wasps , read on for the match report from MK City:
A scratch team turned out for this top v bottom match, with all expectations on an easy 3-0 win.
With only 5 players to begin with, Welwyn forefeited the first 2 sets, leaving MK City the simple task of taking one more set for victory.
The team lined up on a one setter system, with Malone taking the opposite setter role and Scott the sole setter.
The start of the third set quickly showed that the City players had not focused back in to the game following the delayed start, with a number of fundamental errors being made by most on court. Never before have I seen so much one handed defence on court, with the result being City constantly chasing the set.
The 3rd set fell to Welwyn through strong middle attacking and dogged defending, coupled with a lacklustre attack and hole riddled defence.
The fourth set continued in this way with all players making simple errors. The 4th set did see the introduction of new boy Adam Kiczynski in to the game, however this failed to turn the set around as City slumped to their worst set points defeat 8-25.
After much berating from Coach Malone and the switch of Rudiger to Opposite setter, Malone to outside, City's composure reappeared. The final set saw strong serving from Kiczynski matched with some more penetrative attacking from all players.
Eventually City strolled to victory, but in a very un champions-elect manner.
Welwyn performed exceptionally, showing their improvements from the first game played against City back in Autumn 2006.
Hopefully with all players back for the next match and in their preferred positions,City can continue the march to league victory by the end of April.
Coaches report:
F@@@ing awful - thinking of taking up stamp collecting after that performance!
