6 Nov 2023
Super League Review Round 4 – 4th and 5th November
Defending the title they won last season, the North East club had consecutive home matches on Saturday and Sunday against Cambridge ARU and Darkstar Derbyshire respectively.
They faced few problems against Cambridge - the team they had played at Opening Weekend – upgrading a 3-1 win of that occasion to a straight sets (25-16, 25-13, 25-14) success this time.
And it was more of the same on the Sunday as they beat Darkstar 25-21, 25-16, 25-20, meaning they have a five-point lead over the Eastern club ahead of their meeting at the Graham Sports Centre on 18th November.
Malory Eagles moved up to second spot – albeit having played more games than some of their rivals – with a confident win over Coventry and Warwick Riga, who are still searching for their first win of the season.
After cruising to the first two sets by scores of 25-13, 25-10 they were made to work much harder in a tight third before prevailing 28-26 at Ernest Bevin College.
Chloe Allen made eight kills and Grace Lazard five, while Selena Batiste completed 13 assists.
Just behind them, SideOut Polonia also flexed their muscles – after two rounds without a game following on from the Opening Weekend – to make it two victories from their two games so far as they look to go one better than last year’s second-place finish.
They were comfortable 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-22) home victors over the University of Nottingham, with no less than 12 players taking to the court and making a contribution.
Middle blocker Maria Sviridova led the way in making 11 kills and nine blocks, while Merve Akin claimed 27 assists and made seven digs, alongside serving two aces.
For the visitors, Sandra Korusiewicz recorded 10 kills and Abi Ketley 20 assists.
The East Midlands club could take some solace from the fact that they had already beaten London Lionhearts the day before on a two-day trip to the capital, winning 3-1.
No less than four players – Emma Godwin (12), Mar Vives (11), and Martina Van Gorp (11) made double figure digs and the latter 22 kills to go with Ketley’s 42 assists.
Maggie Steward delivered five aces for the hosts along with nine kills, bettered only among her team-mates by Elena Visilean’s 11, while the busy Gabriella Cardosa had four aces, 29 assists and 12 digs.
It was another good week for Leeds Gorse, as they improved their season record to 4-1 with a 3-0 Saturday victory over Darkstar prior to them heading up to Durham.
Outside hitter Eva Borrowdale continued her excellent start to the season as she rounded off 22 kills, to go with 14 receives of serve, four blocks, two assists and five digs.
She was well supported by setter Molly van Essen (33 assists, five digs, two aces) and Alessia Garnero (nine kills, 14 receives of serve, four digs and two aces).
Viktorija Glazewska claimed 20 assists, four kills, six digs and an ace in a losing cause.
In the Men’s Super League, IBB Polonia moved to the top of the Men’s Super League table after making it four wins out of four at the start of the 2023-24 season with an assured straight sets victory over the University of Nottingham.
The Londoners ran out 3-1 winners at Northolt High School in this latest outing, overcoming a temporary setback in dropping the second set to win 25-17, 18-25, 25-15, 25-20.
Polonia now go above previous leaders Essex Rebels, who drop to fourth simply because they did not play and other teams have contested more games than their three.
It proved to be a fruitless trip down south for Nottingham, who were also beaten 3-1 by Richmond – part of Docklands’ double delight over the weekend.
The match was a closely contested throughout, as reflected by the set scores, but it was the hosts who had enough at the key moments to triumph 25-22, 26-24, 25-27, 25-19.
Richmond then followed this on Sunday with victory over Stockport, who have slipped to the bottom of the table after two weekend defeats.
This proved to be a more comfortable Kingston College Arena assignment for the home side, who this time won 25-20, 25-20, 25-22.
Stockport had also played Malory Eagles on Saturday, where the hosts avenged their Opening Weekend defeat to the newly-promoted team by winning 3-1 on this occasion.
It was a mixed weekend for Leeds Gorse, who lost 3-0 at home to Team Sunderland on Saturday before recording their first win of their league season, 3-1 against Newcastle Staffs, on Sunday.
In the latter clash, top spikers were Nelson Murangwa (18 kills) and Dan Thompson (15), with the former also serving four aces and recording six digs.
Jose Dayco (15) and Zak Gasson-Hudson both claimed 15 assists each, while Cameron Schultz made four blocks and Simon Lawrence three.
For the visitors, Sebastian Bukowski made 16 kills, with Cameron Rhodes (27) and Sam Allen (10) contributing the lion’s share of their assists.
Staffs had already taken on Durham Palatinates earlier in the weekend, losing 3-1 in the North East.
The West Midlands side took the opening set 25-22, but the hosts came roaring back to win the next three 25-22, 25-12, 25-18 to take their overall record to four wins and two defeats.
The Super League will take a break this week as the Volleyball England National Cup and Sheild take centre stage.
Pics by Phil Gibbin
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