Thursday, May 24, 2012

Vote for the most valuable players of the year!


It's time again to vote for the most valuable players of the year.


How it works
Choose one player that you think has made the most difference to the team or training session – whether it's their skills or attitude. You can vote in as many categories as you like – for example, even if you play in a men's team, you may have seen the ladies play. And if you only come to Thursdays, choose one player that you think has done really well during the that session.

What are the categories?
• Ladies 1 team player
• Ladies 2 team player
• Men 1 team player
• Men 2 team player
• Mixed team player
• Thursday team player
• Most improved player

What else?
And if you can remember any funny moments, we may have a prize for that too.

Where do I send my vote?
Send your votes to Neil by midnight Friday 25 May.


Thursday, May 17, 2012

Outdoor training on 17, 24, 31 May

Unfortunately we've had to cancel our Thursday indoor training sessions at Headington on 17, 24 and 31 May. The school urgently needs to use the hall for exams.  

Outdoor training
Instead, we'll be playing outdoors in Davenport Gardens in Headington between 7pm and 9pm (weather permitting).

To get to Davenport gardens from the sports hall, go around the sports hall and meet up with the path that runs east–west through the school. Turn left on the path and follow the path to the end (past the tennis courts). The path runs out but simply keep following the direction. You will enter a semi-secluded 'garden' surrounded by trees. The volleyball net is on blue posts to the right just as you enter the garden.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Oxford Mixed - Final Fixture & Conclusion

Good morning,
This will be the final match report for the mixed team as we played Sunday 22nd the final fixture of the season against Newbury & Newbold College. On arrival, we had the pleasure to discover the "lovely" sports hall of Newbold College: Dark & cold ... (And I also had the pleasure to discover I forgot my volley shoes but it did not cause troubles as my other shoes were good enough...)

1st Game - Newbury Vs. Oxford Mixed

The net was up when we arrived, but the receiving team had not enough players present & Newbury & us had to provide Line Judges. The intial team on court was Annika, Kerstin, Helen, Felipe (setter), Corne & myself. The first set started at our advantage, getting the lead very early and increasing it up to 16-12, but then Newbury caught back, took the league, & even if we took a timeout at 20-18, they finishd the first set ahead 25-19.
For the second set, Simon made his first apparition for us, swapping with Felipe, & Anna joined in, swapping with Helen. This time Newbury took the lead quickly up to 10-6, they then maintained their advance up to 20-14. But at this point a new team spirit built up between us & we reduced the point difference to 21-19. Unfortunately, it was not enough, & Newbury won the second set 25-22.
Kerstin got the MVP again for her very usual reliability & strong hits.

2nd Game - Newbold College Vs. Oxford Mixed

For this game, the initial 6 was Felipe, Annika, Simon, Anna, Helen & myself. The speed of game was very slow but we managed to secure quickly a comfortable advance up to 18-10. We slowed down our play but there was no turning back from Newbold & we won the set 25-20.
For the second set, Annika & myslef were on the bench, replaced by Corne & Kerstin. Again the speed of the game was very slow and we were struggling to establish our usual level. This time no team took a definite advantage: 3-36, 10-8, 12-11, 14-14 ... 23-22. 23-23. 24-24. 25-25... We made the final effort, scored the final 2 points & won the second set 27-25.
Simon got the MVP title this time, being our very strong blocker on his first fixture !

So these 2 games conclude a very nice season with highs & lows, allowing us to finish 4th of the league, with "only" 9 points difference with the Winner of the season - Spikeopaths Mixed 1.

TeamPWLFAPts
Spikeopaths Mixed 1 16  14  2  30  7  44    
Maidenhead Mixed 16  13  3  27  11  40    
Newbury Mixed 16  11  5  26  12  37    
Oxford Mixed 16  11  5  24  16  35    
Spikeopaths Mixed 2 16  6  10  19  23  25    
Basingstoke Mixed 16  7  9  16  23  23    
Farnborough Lions 16  5  11  14  25  19    
Spikeopaths Mixed 3 16  2  14  8  28  10    
Newbold Mixed 16  3  13  9  28  10  *  


I would like to thank all the people that have helped me & played for Oxford this year, it has always be very nice to play with you. And we will surely have an even better season next year !!