NVL review (24th and 25th January) - Marvels women up promotion bid as Cambridge men suffer mixed fortunes

Women’s NVL 

Manchester Marvels have moved clear into second place in Division 1 North and looked leaders University of Nottingham’s biggest challengers for promotion between now and the end of the season. 

Their latest victory, in straight sets over Everton Belugas (25-23, 25-19, 25-21), was their sixth from eight matches, but they remain three points behind the Midlanders, having played a game more. 

It’s as you were in Division 1 South with the unbeaten top two both winning, their weekend match with Wessex, albeit in contrasting circumstances. 

Richmond travelled to the South Coast and emerged comfortable 25-14, 25-19, 25-13 winners, while London Giants did not even have to play as they claimed a walkover. 

The two capital teams meet this midweek where something will have to give in the race for the title. 

An important fixture in the race for top spot in Division 2 East saw leaders Cambridge 2 edge out Onyx in a thrilling game. 

The second-placed hosts looked to have things under control after taking the first two sets, but the visitors stormed back to complete a reverse sweep, winning a tense decider by just two points (17-25, 17-25, 26-24, 25-17, 19-17). 

It means Cambridge are three points clear at the top, but they have played a game more than their rivals. 

Elsewhere in the division, it was a good weekend for Richmond 2, who moved up to third place on the back of consecutive straight sets victories. 

On Saturday, they were too strong for Worthing, triumphing 35-22, 25-16, 25-9 on the road, before returning home to get the better of Sussex Dolphins, leapfrogging above them in the process (26-24, 25-19, 25-12). 

Bottom-of-the-table Worthing were also beaten in their second Saturday match as Herts were able to take their record to 4-4 and maintain their mid-table standing (25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 26-24).7 

The top three in Division 2 West continue trade victories, with Reading Aces staying at the summit thanks to a relatively routine success over bottom side Cardiff Falcons (25-22, 25-11, 25-9).

Black Country are second, a point behind, after overcoming Southampton in four close sets (25-10, 25-19, 24-26, 25-16). 

Oxford Eagles, are a further point back with a game in hand and stayed unbeaten by winning a tight, extended first set at Wombourne and coming through (27-25 21-25, 25-17, 25-19). 

Southampton are now a full seven points clear in fourth after winning in four at struggling Coventry and Warwick Riga (25-19, 16-25, 25-18, 25-21). 

There were mixed feelings for Manchester Liberators in Division 2 North as they did close the gap by two points to table toppers Manchester Moss Side Jaguars, but dropped a point as they were taken to five sets by Newcastle Staffs. 

They appeared to be in cruise control after taking the first two sets, but in the end had to go all the way before prevailing 25-21, 25-21, 20-25, 22-25, 15-11, which leaves them trailing their North West title rivals by five points having played the same number of games. 

It was an excellent weekend for Leeds Gorse 2, who gained maximum points from their two weekend fixtures to move up to fourth, getting the better of first Sheffield (25-19, 18-25, 25-17, 25-20) and then Lincoln Cannons (25-13, 26-28, 25-21, 25-16), in four sets, on their home court. 

The Miners Doncaster, who are third, were also victorious, taking down Everton Narwhals on Merseyside. 

It’s tight at the top of Division 3 Central after an eventful weekend that saw all teams in action. 

On Saturday, leaders Leicester Athena Nova were beaten in straight sets by MK City to see their lead cut to three points, as both sides beat bottom club Loughborough Students 2. 

Chief beneficiaries were Cheltenham and Gloucester who, on Sunday, came from a set down to beat both Ashfield Vipers and Coventry and Warwick Riga 2 in four sets, the former defeating the latter in the third match in the triangular at West Notts College. 

As a result, Nova have a three-point lead over C&G having played 10 games each, while MK are a point further back but with two games in hand. 

After a relatively slow start, Darkstar Derbyshire 2 are also sneaking up on the rails and comfortably dispatched both Rhinos Cambridge and Nottingham Rockets in straight sets. 

It was a disappointing triangular for the Rhinos, who having just one game previously lost two in a matter of hours as the Rockets edged a five setter. 

In Division 3 North, top two Manchester Marvels Mystics and York Falcons met and it was the leaders who maintained their 100 per cent record with a 3-1 success.

The Mystics were made to work harder against Newcastle Staffs 2 in their other match, twice coming back from a set down before edging it 3-2, while Falcons beat the Potteries club 3-0.

Chester Amazons are up to third place with a 7-3 record after doubling up against Everton Seadragons (3-0) and Hull Thunder (3-1), while the Humberside club made the host of home advantage to win the other fixture in four sets. 

Urmston Grammar also notched a brace of victories, edging past Leeds Gorse 3 3-2 but winning in straight sets against Isle of Man Falcons. 

Gorse survived a strong comeback from the Islanders to win that match in five. 

London Ravens won the top-of-the-table clash in Division 3 South East as their four-set triumph over close rivals Ashcombe Dorking enabled them to return to top spot and remain unbeaten, both sides also defeating Essex Ravens in straight sets. 

Spelthorne Sharks are now second, ahead of Ashcombe, after confident wins over Sussex Dophins 2 and Dartford Warriors. The top three all have 24 points and are separated on set quotient. 

Tendring are clear in fourth as they defeated winless Invicta in straight sets and Richmond 2 in a five set-thriller, with the London side taking the remaining match in four.  

Bristol 2 continued their Division 3 South West unbeaten record and went back top as they ticked off two more matches in straight sets, proving too strong for Weymouth and Portsmouth, to secure a two-point lead over Farnborough Phoenix.

 

Portsmouth were 3-1 victors over Weymouth to complete the triangular. 

The division’s other triangular saw mid-table Plymouth take the lion’s share of the points, beating Bedminster 2 in five and their city rivals Plymouth Mayflower in straight sets. 

Another five setter saw Bemi claim the win over Mayflower, with three of the sets won by just two points, including the decider. 

---

Men’s NVL 

Cambridge have moved top of Division 1 South but will still consider it a missed opportunity this weekend after mixed fortunes on their travels. 

On Saturday, they secured the success they needed to go above previous leaders IBB Polonia as they won in four against Wessex at Parkstone Grammar School after dropping the first set (22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 27-25). 

But their delight turned to disappointment on Sunday after they took just a single point from a 3-2 defeat at Southampton, where they had led 2-1 in sets (25-17, 21-25, 23-25, 25-15, 15-10), meaning they are only three points clear at the top, not more. 

The West Country derby between Exeter Storm and Bristol saw the latter inflict another hammer blow on the Devonians' hopes of avoiding relegation (25-18, 25-23, 25-19).  

Two of the three matches in Division 1 North went to five sets, with Manchester Marvels winning one of them against Coventry and Warwick Riga with a reverse sweep (20-25, 18-25, 25-18, 27-25, 15-13) to stay second, albeit having lost further ground to leaders Newcastle Staffs. 

Another thriller saw Black Country overcome Rhinos Cambridge after twice trailing by a set before nicking the decider by just two points (22-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 18-16), a result which keeps them third. 

Tamworth Spartans, meanwhile, climb to fifth with at least a game in hand on all those below them after bouncing back from losing a marathon first set against Stockport to reel off the next three (29-31, 25-20, 25-12, 25-19). 

Darkstar Derbyshire continue to go about their business effectively in Division 2 North as their eighth consecutive win on the spin, this time at Newcastle Staffs 2 (25-19, 25-16, 25-18), leaves them three points clear. 

Lincoln Cannons, in second, kept up the pressure with a four-set triumph at Leeds Gorse 2, helping by edging a long-running final set clincher (16-25, 25-23, 25-19, 33-31). 

Everton Dugongs opened up a four-point gap from third to fourth by getting the better of Sheffield Springers (25-18, 25-21, 25-19), while Nottingham Rockets eased their relegation concerns a little with a welcome win at fellow strugglers Hull Thunder (29-27, 25-16, 25-19). 

There were just two matches played in Division 2 South, where Kent Invicta took third with a straightforward victory over Cardiff Panthers (25-20, 25-18, 26-24). 

Spelthorne Lions sprung a surprise to inflict a first defeat on leaders Richmond Bucks last week, but they could not keep it going as they were defeated in four sets by London Baks at St James School (25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21). 

The top three all won in Division 2 Central, albeit MK City were made to work hard in order to hold on to top spot. 

They dropped a point and were taken to five at Leicester before hitting back from 3-2 down to win 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 15-10). 

Second-placed Loughborough Students were able to capitalise and close the gap as they got the better of Cambridge 2 in a hard-fought encounter (25-22, 25-23, 25-23). 

Newmarket also clawed a point back as an easy first set was not indicative of how their match against Northampton would overall thereafter (25-15, 31-29, 26-24). 

Oxford Bulls continued their run of good form to take their record to 4-2 and go fourth as they were 25-18, 25-16, 25-16 victors at Norwich Spikers. 

Intervolley Manchester suffered a first defeat of the season in Division 3 North as they were beaten in straight sets by city rivals Manchester Liberators. 

Nevertheless, the leaders still have a six-point advantage having played a game more than The Libs after beating Manchester Moss Side Jaguars in straight sets in their other Saturday fixture. 

Urmston Grammar climbed the table as they used home advantage well to take out both Hull Thunder 2 (3-0) and Harrogate (3-1) with the North Yorkshire club winning the third game in four sets. 

Telford are the first team to make it 11 straight league wins in any division as they proved too good for Nuneaton Inferno and Tamworth Spartans in straight sets to continue their march towards the Division 3 Central title. Tamworth won the third match in four. 

Birmingham City are on the same points having played two more games after they got the better of Black Country 2 and Wombourne without dropping a set. 

Chelmsford are up to third, albeit having played two more games than BC, with 3-1 successes over Darkstar Derbyshire 2 and Coventry and Warwick Riga 2 while East Midlands beat West by the same scoreline to round out the triangular. 

Double wins for all the top three means they are pulling away from the rest in Division 3 South East, led by London Lionhearts, who defeated Essex Estonians and Rhinos Cambridge 2 in straight sets. 

Onyx, in second, could count Worthing (3-1) and London Wildcats (3-0) among their latest victims. 

A fantastic match unfolded in the third game where Worthing completed a reverse sweep to triumph 15-13 in the decider. 

Newmarket 2 won a topsy turvy match against Tendring and were more comfortable 3-1 victors over GNG Bedford, the latter rallying to see off the Kent side 3-1. 

It promises to be an exciting end to the season in Division 3 South West, with three teams still in contention for the title. 

Team South Wales are favourites after making it 10 wins from 10 as Southampton 2 (3-1) and Guildford International (3-0) felt the heat, before the South Coast club took some solace in a 3-0 victory in the remaining fixture. 

But Weymouth are refusing to give up the chase, beating Urbond Portsmouth (3-1) and City of Bristol (3-0) to stay in contention. 

A point further back are Bristol 2 who will also believe they can still affect things, overcoming Spelthorne Tigers (3-0) and city rivals Bedminster (3-1) in their latest two outings. 

Urbond, (3-1) against City of Bristol, and Bedminster, (3-2) against Spelthorne, also registered triangular successes. 

Action images from Everton's match by Simon Clarke (@simondclarke.1)

---

Full NVL fixtures and results can be found here.

Keep up to date with everything Volleyball England via the Volleyball England socials.