NVL newcomers part two – Isle of Man Falcons 

Year formed: 2020. 

NVL Coach: Jennifer Moret. 

Social media handles: Volleyball Isle of Man – VBIOM (Facebook) and @volleyballiom (Instagram). 

For the Isle of Man Falcons, joining the NVL gives them a chance to continue the development of sport on the island. 

Volleyball Isle of Man (VBIOM) was established in 2020 with remit of growing the popularity of the game in a country that is best known in a sporting context for the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT Races). 

Since then, on-island leagues have been set up for men’s women’s and mixed teams to ensure regular competitive play. 

Teams have also competed in off-island tournaments – such as Volleyball England's National Cup and Shield, the Merseyside League’s Des Jeffers Tournament – and staged a number of friendlies against other UK teams. 

Off-court progress has seen volleyball recognised as a sport by Isle of Man Sport in 2022 and VBIOM became a recognised Area Association under the North West Volleyball Association of Volleyball England in 2021. 

After the inaugural season of the women’s league in 2024-25 showed much promise, playing in the NVL is set to help further strengthen the player pool, with the aim of entering competitive teams into further UK and international competitions in the future.  

“Our ambitions in this first season are to gain a lot of game experience, and grow as a team,” said Team secretary, Natalie Wood. 

“We have laid down the roots with our island competitions and now we want to increase the popularity of the sport here.” 

Another motivating factor for the Falcons is the prospect of a team from the island competing in the Island Games in 2027. 

The multi-sport event is staged biannually, with teams from 24 small member islands from across the world taking part. 

The event was first held on the Isle of Man in 1985, with Orkney to host in 2027 before the Games is set to return to its birthplace in 2029. 

Natalie said: “We want to increase the level of competitiveness, especially ahead of the 2027 Island Games. 

“We have, as an island, entered a team in the past but before the current association was brought into existence. 

“It will be around 20 years since that happened, so it would be great for this squad to help that happen again.” 

Although training in Douglas and Onchan, the Falcons will travel across the Irish Sea to play all of their triangular fixtures on the English mainland. 

They will take on the likes of York Falcons, Manchester Marvels Mystics, Urmston Grammar, Leeds Gorse 3, Hull Thunder, Chester Amazons, Newcastle Staffs 2 and fellow newcomers Everton Seadragons when the action gets underway in October. 

The Islanders will look to two of their players in particular to give them inspiration. 

“Emma Goosey is a strong experienced middle, a blocking wall and powerful hitter,” said Natalie. 

“And then there is Lucy Corrin, who is an up-and-coming junior player with a powerful serve who is not afraid to hit the floor.”