England's Men Win the Novotel Cup for the first time

England Senior Men's Volleyball Team have won the Novotel Cup for the first time in their history.

With a 3-0 victory over France in their final game of the competition, England claimed the top spot on the podium with three victories from a possible three. 

The first set against France was tough with the French having a fast-paced youthful squad looking to bounce back from defeats against Luxembourg and Austria.  

The first set was tight until England started asserting dominance in the game. After being only one point clear for much of the set, England showcased their skill and took the first set 25-21. 

The second set was when England's experience shone with a dominating performance finishing 25-18.

All that stood between England and invincibility in Luxembourg was one set...

The set started much the same as the others with France keeping in close contact with England. But, battling back from 2-0 down is always a struggle for any team no matter their level of experience and England didn’t let the quality of their game slip. 

The French team did have a small fight back in the final set saving five set points however, the England team had created enough of a buffer to still claim the match 25-19. 

Simon Loftus the Head Coach for the England Men’s Senior Team spoke after the match and described what it means to him, the coaching staff and players.

“England Men winning the Novotel Cup for the first time is a combination of the last two years of hard work we’ve all been doing,” he said. 

“Every time we step on the court we see notable improvements, which is fantastic. But it also shouldn’t be underestimated the dedication, sacrifice and commitment this group of players have put in.

“I’d also like to thank the rest of the team here in Luxembourg; Jefferson Williams, Phil Crawford, Hai Binh and Chris Jones - I couldn’t do it without them. Thanks also to Marcel Sivak, who whilst not here in Luxembourg has been a pivotal part of the team's development in the last two years.”

With all the support of the coaches and bench staff, England have been able to remain undefeated in the competition and only dropping one set to 45th ranked in the world Luxembourg. 

The competiton has also allowed some England players claim their first international caps, gaining valuable experience and representing their country. 

The Novotel Cup campaign started with a strong win over Austria (25-21, 28-26, 25-20). 

A nail-biting second set showed what was to come for England and how digging in deep and having that commitment to push through would be essential for the rest of the competition. 

Luxembourg would be the toughest challenge with them ranking 45th in the world and hosts of the competition so having home advantage would always be a factor. 

England came out the blocks fast maintaining their momentum from the previous game against Austria and took the first set 25-17. 

However, Luxembourg then got the crowd behind them and might have been an extra boost for the team as they then came out in the second set and took it to a 60-point game with Luxembourg taking it 31-29. 

But, England wanted to cause an upset for Luxembourg on their home soil and replicated the first set scoreline of 25-17 in the third set. 

England didn’t want to the game to go to five sets so needed to be clinical in the fourth and the squad rallied behind each other and almost silenced the crowd with a 25-20 victory. 

After these two successes, it put the Three Lions in a great position to come out and take all three games and the gold medal, which they confirmed with victory over France and ensured they topped last year's second placed finish in the tournament, just behind Germany.

Volleyball England wants to extend it congratulations to the whole England Squad (Cameron Rhodes (Newcastle Staffs), Noah Sykes (Team Sunderland), Nathan Fullerton (Malory Eagles), Jack Williams (Draisma Dynamo Apeldoorn), Will Evans (Black Country), Ephraim Mills (IBB Polonia), Thomas Jefferson (Essex Rebels), Zakk Hadgett (ASV Elite), Ryan Poole (Caruur Volley Gent), Thomas Shatimehin (Essex Rebels), Ben Lucas (ASV Elite), James Ledbury (Black Country), Chester Searle (Malory Eagles), Michael Lee (Newcastle Staffs).   as well as the bench and coaching staff (Simon Loftus, Jefferson Williams, Chris Jones, Hai Binh Ly). 

If you have been inspired by the team and would like to support them you can do so via their just giving page.

If you have been watching the action and would like to get involved in Volleyball you can find a club near you here.