UEL win five out of five to retain Student Sitting Cup title

The hosts won all five of their matches on their home court to ensure they repeated their success in the inaugual tournament held last year. 

Matches in the pool stages were timed games played over 25 minutes. 

UEL quickly showed their class by winning all four of their pool encounters, without dropping a set. 

Runners-up in the pool were Loughborough Students, who, after being brushed aside by UEL, bounced back well to triumph in their other matches. 

In third place were Southampton with a 2-2 match record followed by University of Bath, meaning the two sides would meet in the third/fouth place play-off. 

While London Metropolitan finished bottom of the pool, they were competitive throughout against all comers. 

The final and third/fourth place matches were played as the best of three sets, with both going the distance. 

Loughborough were quicky out the traps against UEL in the final, taking the first set 25-21, but the hosts hit back to clinch the second 25-18 and square the match. 

In the decider, which was first to 15, UEL just had the edge to claim it 15-12 and secure the winners’ trophy. 

The third/fourth place encounter was just as exciting, with Southampton pulling through in three (25-13, 21-25, 15-12). 

Local schools also attended the day and took part in have-a-go sessions, which were well received. 

“It was a fantastic day and a great event... a big thank you to everyone who took part,” said Volleyball England’s Project Lead for Sitting Volleyball, John Worrall. 

“The Student Sitting Cup event was another good milestone in creating more opportunities to play sitting volleyball at higher and further education level. 

“We'll be looking to build on this in the coming months and look to develop a growing interest in sitting volleyball from the student fraternity.” 

Event images and video coverage: Aleah Rafat (@_aleahrafat) and David Butler (@dbvb.jpg). 

If you want to get involved in sitting volleyball, click here.