U16 Junior Grand Prix #1 (15th and 16th November)

The boys' competition had 28 teams enter across seven pools. 

Pool A was hosted by Newcastle Staffs, who beat MK City B 2-0, but lost to MK City A and eventual winners Urmston Grammar A. 

The Greater Manxchester side - who won the overall national title at this age group last year - showed they are likely to be strong again, beating all three teams 2-0 to take six pool points. 

MK City A performed well to edge out Newcastle Staffs in a close 2-1 game (14-25, 28-26, 15-12), while the club's B team, while missing out on winning a match, played some excellent volleyball and gained 18 Grand Prix Series points. 

Pool B saw a London battle for the top positions, with Richmond Falcons winning all three of their matches to secure their place at the top of the table. 

They were closely followed by Richmond Hawks who lost 2-0 to their clubmates, but won their other two matches to claim four pool points. 

Hosts AST Academy A beat Willesden Knights 2-1 to secure third place ahead of their opponents. 

Pool C saw hosts Bristol narrowly miss out on the top position after losing  2-1 to Wessex, going down 15-13 in the third set. 

South Hants and Winchester Eagles had a keenly-contested two-set game, which the former won 25-20, 25-20 to confirm their third place position. 

Hosts Leeds Gorse Orange adapted well to the home court advantage as they finished top of the table in Pool D, winning all three of their matches. 

Monkseaton followed behind in second place after losing in straight sets to the Yorkshire, side, albeit 25-23 in the second. 

It was all to play for for third and fourth place, with Urmston Grammar B claiming victory against Nottingham Rockets, with the help of a 26-24 first set win.

Pool E was hosted in the South by Sevenoaks School, who also maded the most of hosting by finishing with a 100% record.

They were pushed hard by Deep Dish Crystal Palace, edging a deeciding set 15-13 in the final set. 

Team Medway beat Wapping Wildcats A 25-20, 25-20, to take third place and claim two pool points. 

Pool F saw an all-London battle in which Team SideOut stormed through their matches, winning them all without dropping a set. 

London Lynx finished second after beating all their other opponents 2-0.

Hosts London Giants remained calm to claim a 2-0 victory over Thames Valley after set two ended 26-24 to decide the third and fourth places. 

Pool G was hosted by The Boswells School, who won all three of their matches to dominate. 

While losing to Boswells, Dartford put in strong performances to beat South Bucks A and Worthing Lions to claim the runners-up spot. 

South Bucks A defeated Worthing Lions in othe other match. 

The U16 Girls' competiton was contested across nine pools made up of 34 teams. 

Pool A was hosted by South Hants who ended up second in the table, with thei only setback to eventuall pool winners Richmond A. 

Weymouth ended in third after losing to Richmond and South Hants, but beating Wessex 2-1, fighting until the end in the third set with the final score 15-13. 

Pool B took place in the North and was hosted by Hull Thunder who lost out on the first place finish to Urmston Grammar A, but won their other two matches to secure second. 

Leeds Gorse Orange were in touching distance of second, but were edged out 16-14 by Thunder in a third set decider. 

They went on to beat Urmston Grammar B 2-0 to secure their third place and claim two pool points. 

Pool C saw South Bucks dominate the pool by not dropping a set. 

MK City were second, performing well to beat the hosts ENVC 2-1, as well as AST Academy by the same margin, including clinhcing set two 25-23. 

ENVC and AST Academy played out a close two-set match, with the hosts taking it 25-20, 25-22 to finish third. 

Pool D took place in the West Midlands, hosted by Black Country, who finished third, with their solitary victory coming against Nottingham Rockets. 

They were beaten by Bristol and  pool winners Newcastle Staffs, who boosed the pool with three victoires and no sets dropped. 

For their part, thwe Rickets fought hard fought hard and pushed BC hard in the first set before the West Midlanders took it 25-22.

Pool E featured the domination of Wapping Wildcats A, who triumohed in all three of their eoncounters. 

Westminster put up a good fight against them, but lost 2-1, resulting in a second place finish for them. 

Malory Eagles narrowly missed out against those above, losing both matches 2-1, but did overcome hosts Willesden Divets 2-0. 

Pool F took place in the north of England, which was staged at Newcastle Staffs and very closely contested. 

Ashfield Vipers won two of their matches, falling short to Manchester Marvels 2-1. 

The Marvels beat Stockport and Ashfield, but couldn't keep their momentum against Newcastle Staffs B, losing 15-13 in the third set. 

After beating Stockport and Manchester, Newcastle Staffs B also won two of their matches, resulting in three out of the four teams all winning two matches each. 

As such, their final rankings came down to set difference, with the Vipers finishing first, Manchester second, and Staffs B third. 

Pool G was hosted by Sevenoaks School, who, like their boys' team, capitalised on home court advantage, winning all three of their matches to claim six pool points. 

Ashcombe Dorking finished in second having lost 2-1 to Sevenoaks, but beating Deep Dish Crystal Palace and London Giants. 

Deep Dish and Giants had a thrilling battle, with former claiming a win 2-1, 15-12 in the third set, which ultimately resulted in them nicking third spot. 

Pool H consisted of three teams, where hosts, The Boswells School, finished top of the table, coming out on top in both their matches. 

Team SideOut beat Tendring Tech College 25-20, 25-20 to secure the second place finish. 

Lastly, Pool I was hosted by Thames Valley, who finished second after being beaten 2-0 by pool winners Richmond B (25-21, 25-17). 

Winchester Eagles lost to both Richmond B and Thames Valley, but managed to secure a success over Worthing Panthers 25-20, 25-20, enabling them to claim third.

For more on Junior volleyball competitions, click here.