NVL Review 2nd and 3rd March

Cambridge ARU vastly improved their chances of survival in the Men’s Division 1 with a 3-0 victory over mid-table rivals Weymouth Beach this weekend.  

Once Cambridge started, there was no stopping them, and, from claiming the first set 25-15, they grew into the game, with the second and third finishing 25-21, 25-19.  

They have now moved nine points clear of the bottom three and with only three games left to play, are all but guaranteed Division 1 volleyball next season.  

A team that needs results to go their way, however, is Coventry and Warwick Riga, who have only one win in 12 this season.  

Their troubles continued this weekend as they hosted fellow strugglers Tamworth Spartans who gave them own hopes of avoiding the drop a boost. 

Taking the first set 25-19, Spartans looked comfortable but Riga hit back to level in the second, winning 25-20.   

But any hopes of a Coventry comeback were short lived as the Staffordshire side clinched the next two sets 25-18, 25-21 - and the game 3-1- to move four points clear of eighth-placed Manchester.   

In Divison 2 North, Liverpool secured an important success against Loughborough Students in their hopes to stay in the league. 

A thrilling five setter saw the Merseyside team fight back from 2-1 down to take the match 3-2 (24-26, 25-19, 22-25, 28-26, 15-11).  

With Everton Dugongs losing to Sheffield 3-1 earlier in the day,they are almosr guaranteed to finish bottom of the table.  

At the other end, Hull Thunder have Lincoln Cannons to thank after a 3-1 victory over Darkstar, which puts Humberside club only one point behind the leaders.   

That was after their own 3-2 victory over Harrogate, where they opened the match by going 2-0 up with two close sets (26-24, 25-22) before the North Yorkshire hosts fought back to take it to a tie breaker.  

In it, Hull, after dropping off the pace for two sets, suddently got back up to top speed and cruised to the final set 15-4.  

Lincoln’s victory over Darkstar measn they are now only three poinyd off the top with a game in hand as just three points covers the top four places. 

Division 2 Central saw Hounslow extend their lead at the top of the table to four points with a 3-1 victory over bottom side Dartford Crossers.  

With London Baks, who are second, not playing until 16th March, they have the opportunity to extend their lead further to seven points if they beat a Cambridge team next weekend who will be looking to bounce back from a 3-0 loss to Newmarket. 

In the Cambridgeshire derby, it was the away team who boosted their play-off aspirations, moving to within two points of Baks but having played one extra game.  

In Division 2 South, Bristol have reclaimed top spot after their 3-1 win at Exeter Storm – completing the league double over the Devonians in the process. 

After defeat in the Shield last week, Storm wanted to get back to winning ways, particularly with title at stake and started off strongly, crusing to the opening set 25-11.  

But Bristol then turned the tables and took the second 25-14 before taking control in tighter third and fourth sets (25-22, 25-21) to close out victory.  

The result puts them three points clear of their rivals with both having completed 11 of their 14 matches. 

City of Bristol and Guildford International both suffered straight sets defeats over the weekend, keeping them in the relegation zone. 

Bristol lost out 3-0 to Wiltshire Mavericks and Guildford lost by the same scoreline against Richmond Bucks.  

Division 3 North Central featured a triangular fixture between Coventry and Warwick Riga 2, Darkstar Derbyshire 2 and Bradford Eagles, with aal all out to claim the full six points.  

Darkstar were looking for their first win of the season and came close against Riga, but narrowly missed out in the final set 15-8.  

Riga and Bradford are almost certain of safety as are eight and 10 points clear of the drop zone respectively after the former beat the latter 3-1 and the Eagles saw off Darkstar by the same margin. 

Stockport went back level on points with Wessex at the top of Division 1 after winning their match against Bristol on Sunday.  

 A strong performance by the Greater Manchester side saw them take the match in straight sets 25-17, 25-16, 25-23. 

The two sides are level on points with Wessex having played a game less and the match between them on 6th April could well be crucial in the final reckoning.  

Richmond continue to keep the pressure on the top two teams, knowing they can swoop in and grab second spot if either team slip up.  

That seems unlikely, however, as their victory over London Inter Crocs still leaves them six points behind the top two with three games to play.  

Struggling MK City remain bottom six points from safety after a 3-0 loss to Everton Belugas.  

Manchester Marvels Mayhem are now only one point behind Sheffield after a competitive game against Tamworth Spartans which saw the match go to five sets.  

Tamworth came our fast to notch the first two but then struggled to keep that momentum going into the third set which saw them lose it 25-8. 

That further took the wind out of the Spartans’ sails with the next two sets also going to Marvels, giving them the game 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-8, 25-21, 15-9). 

Marvels are now just one point behind second place Sheffield, but have played three games more, so will have to hope for results to go in their favour to have any chance of promotion. 

Two matches in Division 2 Central saw Northampton and Norwich Spikers both claim victories.  

Norwich hosted Oxford Eagles and claimed a comfortable 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-21) success, which moves them up to fifth in the table, four points clear of the relegation zone.  

Eagles would have wanted to get a better result as this defeat means they remain on 20 points, three off the top team Herts.  

Hot on Oxford's heals are Northampton after their victory over Cambridge Rhinos 

Dropping the first set 26-24, the Midlands team came back in the next three to claim an impressive 3-1 victory (24-26, 29-27, 25-15, 25-22).  

Sussex Dolphins, Bedminster and London Giants all claimed 3-0 victories this weekend in Division 2 South.  

Remaining unbeaten in 11 matches, Giants are heavy favourites to progress up the volleyball pyramid with a 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 win against Cardiff Falcons.  

Dolphins moved out of the bottom two with a powerful performance against relegation rivals Bristol 2.  

Bedminster are fourth with a record of 5-7, which they added to positively this weekend against bottom side Ashcombe.  

A busy weekend for another unbeaten team saw The Miners Doncaster continue their impressive run with two more victories to add to their tally against Liverpool and Manchester Liberators – a result that confirmed them as Division 3 North champions. 

Their opening game against eighth place Liverpool was a comfortable affair and set the tone for them to take the match 3-0 (25-9, 25-20, 25-18).  

The same, however, could not be said about their game against Liberators, which saw them go to the full five sets.  

The league leaders started as they did in their first match with a 25-16, but then were pegged back after losing the second narrowly 29-27.  

Miners looked at risk of losing their 100% record after the third set went to the Manchester side 25-18.  

But they had not gone unbeaten in the league for this long not to fight back and they took the next set 25-18 to level at 2-2 before clinching the tie break set 15-8 to spark the celebrations.  

Onyx also remain unbeaten after two 3-0 victories over Reading Aces and Sussex Dolphins.  

Now level on matches played with Cambridge (who have lost just once), Onyx sit top of the table with 36 points with only four games to play.  

Sussex remain rooted to the bottom on three points after losing the two matches in the triangular, while Reading Aces stay third.  

View all the results from the weekend and current tables here.