NVL Review 25th and 26th October

Men's NVL

In Division 1 North, four games took place, with current league leaders Newcastle Staffs keeping their 100% record intact after a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15) victory over Tamworth Spartans, handing the Spartans their first loss of the season.

Black Country and Manchester Marvels kept pace with the Staffordshire side, both claiming victories over the weekend.

The Marvels were pushed by Rhinos Cambridge, dropping a set but fighting back to win 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 25-20).

Black Country also faced a tough opening set against Stockport, narrowly taking it 28-26 before finding their rhythm to win the next two sets 25-18, 25-16.

Coventry and Warwick Riga claimed their first win of the season with a 3-1 victory over struggling Sheffield, who remain winless. Sheffield showed promise with a strong third-set performance (25-18), but Riga hit back in the fourth to secure the win and lift themselves off the bottom of the table.

In Division 1 South, all eight teams were in action. Cambridge and London Aces played out a thrilling 3-2 encounter that ebbed and flowed between two sides known for their five-set battles.

The Aces came out strong after their commanding 3-0 opening win against Exeter Storm, taking the first two sets 25-21 and 29-27. Cambridge responded with a 25-19 third-set win and carried that momentum into the fourth, taking it 25-21 to force a decider.

Cambridge completed the reverse sweep with a nail-biting 15-13 win in the final set, moving them up to fourth in the table, level on points with Essex Blaze and just one point behind the top sides, Aces and Bristol.

Wessex suffered their second defeat of the season but put up a good fight against last year’s Super League side Essex Blaze, taking a commanding second set 25-15 and narrowly losing the fourth 29-27.

IBB Polonia took a dominant 3-0 win over struggling Exeter Storm, keeping Exeter bottom of the standings. However, with only three games played, there’s still time for the South West side to turn things around.

Southampton remain winless but picked up a point from their 3-2 defeat to Bristol. Southampton started strongly, taking the first two sets 25-20 and 25-22, before Bristol turned the tide to complete a reverse sweep (25-23, 25-17, 18-16), keeping them level on points with London Aces at the top.

In Division 2 South, Dartford Crossers claimed a strong 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-23) victory over Cardiff Panthers, moving to within one point of league leaders Richmond Bucks. Panthers remain winless, though it’s still early in the season.

In Division 3 North, Liverpool recorded two 3-0 victories in their triangular against Hull Thunder 2 and York Vikings, leaving them second in the standings, one point behind Harrogate.

Harrogate took a 3-1 win over Manchester Marvels Marauders but couldn’t repeat the result against another Manchester side, Moss Side Jaguars, who won 3-1.

Another big Manchester showdown saw Urmston Grammar take on Manchester Liberators and Intervolley Manchester. After dropping their first match against Intervolley, Urmston bounced back to beat Liberators 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 29-27, 25-23).

Intervolley Manchester followed up their opening win with another commanding 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-18) victory over Liberators, taking all six available points from the weekend.

Telford picked up five points from a possible six, beating Coventry and Warwick Riga 2 3-2 and Chelmsford 3-0. Chelmsford also notched a 3-0 win over Riga, putting them above the West Midlands side on sets ratio, with Riga having played four matches to Chelmsford’s two.

In Division 3 Central, Black Country 2 took one win and one loss, while early pace-setters Birmingham City continued their impressive start with 3-1 and 3-0 victories over Black Country 2 and Tamworth Spartans, respectively. Black Country 2 defeated Tamworth 2, keeping them third in the table, with Birmingham City topping it on 12 points from five matches.

In Division 3 South, eight games took place. New arrivals London Lionhearts kept the pressure on Newmarket 2, taking two 3-1 victories over Onyx London and Worthing.

Another London side, the Wildcats, faced Rhinos Cambridge 2 and GNG Bedford, taking two wins but only five points after a narrow 3-2 (25-16, 21-25, 25-18, 21-25, 15-12) victory over GNG.

Tendring claimed a 3-1 win and suffered a 3-1 loss in their triangular with league leaders Newmarket 2, earning five valuable points to stay near the top. Essex Estonians fell short against both Newmarket and Tendring but managed to take a valuable point from the league leaders — which could prove pivotal later in the season.

Two triangulars took place in Division 3 South West, with six teams in action.

Bristol 2 showed their dominance with two 3-0 victories over local rivals City of Bristol and Guildford International. Guildford had earlier beaten City of Bristol 3-0.

It was a much closer affair in the other triangular, with all matches needing at least four sets. Bedminster defeated Spelthorne Tigers 3-1 but missed out on a full haul of points after a 3-2 defeat to Southampton 2. Spelthorne then fell again to Southampton 2 by the same margin, losing 3-1 (17-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-15).

Women's NVL

Early title contenders, the University of Nottingham, dropped their first set of the season this weekend against the Everton Belugas but still maintained their 100% record with a 3–1 (25–16, 25–19, 22–25, 25–16) victory over the Merseyside side on Sunday.

Northampton secured their first win in four games with a 3–0 (25–17, 26–24, 25–22) triumph over the Manchester Marvels Mayhem. The result takes them level on points with the team they beat, although Northampton have played two more matches than the Manchester side.

There was just one match in Division 1 South this weekend – but it was a thriller.

Recently relegated Wessex hosted title hopefuls Essex Trinity, with the former Super League side falling short in the first set, 25–18. The south coast team responded strongly, taking the second 25–21 to force a fourth set at minimum.

Essex edged the third set and looked set to close it out in four, but Wessex dug deep to take the fourth 25–19 and push the match into a decider. In a tense fifth set, Trinity just held their nerve to claim the set – and the match – returning to the East with two points.

The win puts Essex Trinity top of the league, although they’ve played two more matches than their nearest challengers, the London Giants, who next play on 9 November against Team South Wales.

Manchester Moss Side hosted the Lincoln Cannons on Sunday after defeating The Miners Doncaster 3–0 (25–19, 25–22, 25–19).

Carrying momentum into the fixture, Moss Side took the opening set 26–24, but Lincoln responded by taking the next two 25–19 and 25–23. The Jaguars battled hard to claim the fourth 25–21 and force a decider, but it was the Lincolnshire side who edged the final set 15–13.

Despite the loss, the Jaguars remain top of Division 2 North, with the Cannons five points behind in second.

A triangular in Division 2 East saw an impressive 13 sets of volleyball played, with the Sussex Dolphins involved in 10 of them.

They started their day at the University of East Anglia in dominant fashion, winning the first two sets 25–17 and 25–12 against the Norwich Spikers, before Norwich staged a remarkable comeback to reverse sweep the Dolphins 25–23, 25–17, 15–10.

Undeterred, the Dolphins faced Cambridge next in another five-set marathon. After claiming the first set 25–23, Cambridge levelled 26–24 and looked set to take control. However, Sussex regained composure to win the third 25–18, putting them one set away from victory. Cambridge rallied to take the fourth 25–15, forcing yet another decider, but this time the Dolphins held firm, taking the final set 15–10 and securing a hard-fought win.

In the final match, Norwich faced Cambridge. Perhaps fatigued after their earlier battles, Norwich couldn’t match Cambridge’s energy, falling 3–0 (25–16, 25–10, 25–18).

Oxford Eagles also had a busy weekend, playing nine sets across two matches and coming out on top both times.

On Saturday, they defeated Coventry and Warwick Riga 3–1 (14–25, 25–21, 25–23, 26–24) to gain valuable momentum heading into Sunday’s clash with Black Country. That encounter proved even tighter, with three of the five sets going to tiebreaks. Oxford ultimately prevailed 3–2 (25–22, 29–27, 25–27, 24–26, 15–7), earning an essential two points and keeping pressure on early league leaders Black Country.

It was a packed weekend with three triangulars in Division 3 North.

Newly promoted Everton Seadragons are still searching for their first win after 3–0 defeats to both the Chester Amazons and Leeds Gorse 3.

The Isle of Man Falcons couldn’t replicate the form they showed a few weeks ago against Leeds Gorse 3, falling 3–0 to both the Newcastle Staffs 2 and York Falcons at the Sir Stanley Matthews Sports Centre. York’s two 3–0 wins lift them to second in the table, behind unbeaten leaders the Manchester Marvels Mystics, who extended their perfect run with victories over Urmston Grammar and Hull Thunder.

There was a local derby between Nottingham Rockets and Leicester Athena Nova, with the Rhinos Cambridge also in action. Both Nova and Rhinos recorded wins over the hosts, with Rhinos also edging Nova 3–2 in a tight battle. That result keeps Rhinos top of the table on set difference.

Cheltenham and Gloucester are level on points with MK City and just one behind Nova and Rhinos after a successful weekend, securing wins over the Loughborough Students 2 and Coventry and Warwick Riga 2.

Newcomers London Ravens made a statement with two dominant 3–0 victories over Invicta (25–7, 25–12, 25–13) and Tendring (25–15, 25–17, 25–22).

Ashcombe Dorking also picked up two wins, defeating Richmond 3 (23–25, 25–20, 25–17, 25–18) and the Spelthorne Sharks (25–14, 25–11, 25–7).

In the South West, Southampton 2, Weymouth, and Bedminster 2 faced off in a triangular, with Southampton claiming all six available points and Weymouth defeating Bedminster 2.

Bristol 2 travelled to Plymouth Mayflower, who also hosted Portsmouth, but home advantage didn’t pay off – Mayflower fell 3–0 and 3–1 respectively. Bristol then capped off their weekend with a 3–0 (25–12, 25–23, 25–13) win over Portsmouth.

Farnborough Phoenix also enjoyed a perfect weekend, recording 3–0 wins over the City of Bristol and Plymouth.

Full NVL results can be found here.

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Cover image: Liam Jefferies