11 Dec 2023
Super League review round 8 (9th and 10th December)
Having lost ground with a narrow defeat to the Malory Eagles, the North East side bounced back with the perfect response, securing wins on the road at both Leeds Gorse and Essex Rebels.
That said, their time at the top is unlikely to last as IBB Polonia continue to march along in impressive fashion, notching a seventh straight win since the 2023-24 season began in October.
In West Yorkshire, Durham established a two-set lead (25-16, 25-18) before losing the third set 25-20 as Leeds refused to lie down.
But the Palatinates were not to be denied and wrapped up the fourth set in confident fashion, winning it 25-14.
Down in Essex, a tight and extremely well-contested match ensued, with the visitors claiming the opener 27-25 and followed it up by taking the second 25-21.
Alex Porter’s side were far from finished and edged the third set 26-24, but Durham held their nerve to take the next 25-20 and close out a 3-1 win.
Polonia, meanwhile, continue to make headway as a number of other sides are beating each other, notching their latest success 3-0 at home to Newcastle Staffs.
The Londoners who were pushed hard in two of the three sets before they ran out 25-23, 25-20, 25-23 victors.
It was also a good weekend for the Malory Eagles (pictured above), who took their record to 6-3 as they went third with a 3-2 Saturday victory at home to the Essex Rebels.
The momentum went from one side to the other as the visitors won the first and third sets, but each time Jefferson Williams’ team squared things up.
Then, in the tie breaker, Malory came up trumps 15-11 to record their fifth win in six matches.
In the division’s other two matches, two sides who had been in good recent form were both beaten at home.
The University of Nottingham had won their previous two matches, but were edged out by Richmond Docklands by two points in each set.
While the overall 3-0 scoreline suggested any easy win for the visitors, it was anything but as they took the sets 26-24, 26-24, 27-25.
The kill count was shared out by Richmond, with Vitor Oliveira (13), Joao Alves (12), Ugnius Marganavicius (12) and Abdimalik Shukri (8) all contributing in that regard.
Alves was also top blocker with four, while setter Richard Uhlir completed 45 of 90 attempts, in addition to serving three aces and making two blocks.
Nottingham’s top attackers were Slater Bird and Gustavo Cassou (both 10), while Reuben Fernandes (four) and Cassou and Jacob Thomas (both three) led the blocks count.
Stockport were also on the wrong end of it, by a 3-1 margin against Team Sunderland, having come out on top on their three previous fixtures by the same scoreline.
Well beaten, 25-15, in the first set, the hosts made it far more competitive for the rest of the match, losing the second 26-24 before winning the third 25-23.
But any hopes of a turnaround were dashed as Sunderland took the fourth set 25-22.
In the MAAREE Women’s Super League, Coventry and Warwick Riga finally ended their frustrating wait for a first top-flight win since promotion to lift themselves off the bottom of the table.
Having demonstrated they were not far off in recent weeks in losing in five sets at Cambridge ARU and pushing Sideout Polonia hard, things finally came together for Jon Chetham’s side as they beat Darkstar Derbyshire 3-1.
Things did not start well for the hosts as they lost the first set 25-19, but they did not let that worry them as they hit back to win the next three 25-18, 25-18, 25-12.
The University of Nottingham continued their resurgence with a third straight victory, moving up to fourth in the table in the process.
Following successes over Leeds Gorse and Darkstar, the Green and Golds were 3-1 winners again, this time over London Lionhearts.
With the scores tied at 1-1, the match hinged on an epic third set that lasted an incredible 72 points before the home side took it 37-35.
They were then able to close out the win 25-18 in the fourth after London had won the opening set 25-21 and UON had then levelled by winning the second 25-19.
Sandra Korusiewicz proved to be the hosts main attacking threat, completing 29 kills and she also added 20 from 22 successful attempts of serve return and nine digs.
She was ably supported by Isabel Brown (11 kills, three blocks) and Emma Godwin (eight kills), while Abi Godwin provided 45 assists from 128 attempts. Emilia Vakeva-Baird served five aces and Adel Stogiu four.
For the Lionhearts, Maggie Steward completed 15 kills and 16 of 18 service return attempts, making two blocks and 13 digs and serving two aces in a fine all-round game.
Kersti Sorra chipped in with 11 kills, three blocks and an ace, while Grace Yang completed 38 of 102 assist attempts and served three aces.
It was another good week for the Malory Eagles as they leapfrogged Essex Rebels to move into third place after edging to a 3-2 win at the University of East London SportsDock.
The Rebels stormed into a two-set lead (25-23, 25-19) and looked set for victory, but the home side had other ideas.
They first squared the match 25-16, 25-22 and then kept the momentum going in the tie break to take it 15-8, meaning both sides now have a 6-3 record, but with the Eagles one point ahead.
Sideout Polonia are now in second spot with two games in hand on many of their rivals after proving too strong for Cambridge ARU.
They were always in control as they won 3-0 and by sets scores of 25-20, 25-19, 25-19.
It was business as usual for table toppers Durham Palatinates as they extended their lead at the top of the table with two more wins on the road, taking their tally to 10 consecutive victories.
On Saturday, the North East side made the relatively short trip to face Leeds Gorse and ran out 25-16, 25-8, 25-19 victors.
They travelled further down south on Sunday to visit Essex Rebels and again came out on top in straight sets, winning 25-22, 25-21, 26-24.
To view all the weekend's Super League results in full, click here.
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