First matches of the season for the Eagles

On 12 October the Eagles travelled to Basingstoke to face Spikeopaths Ladies 1 and Basingstoke Lionesses in their first fixture of the 2014/15 season in BVA ladies division 1. The team was made up of Helen, Asia, Stefanie, Adriana, Victoria, and Izzy in her new role as team captain.

Spikeopaths Ladies 1 vs Oxford Eagles

It's fair to say it took us a while to get going in the first set, which allowed Spikeos to pull ahead and maintain a lead. But with some strong serving from Stef towards the end, we managed to find our feet and narrow the gap to finish 21-25.

Coach Neil likened our first set performance to a school PE class who didn’t want to be there. He had obviously said something right because we went into the second set with a lot more purpose, winning it 25-16.

We kept up the momentum going into the third set and pulled out in front with a 5-point lead. However, Spikeos managed to come back strongly to level the score to 10-10. From here on it was a nervous battle to the finish, with Spikeos taking the victory 16-14.

MVP: Stef

Basingstoke Lionesses vs Oxford Eagles

Knowing we were up against a strong Basingstoke side, we went into this game with lots of energy and spirits high. The set got off to a good start, with little in it between both sides. Basingstoke got stronger as the set went on and broke away to win 25-18.

Much like the first set, the Eagles started with a good attitude and scored some early points. We played some great 3-touch volleyball with Izzy attacking hard on the outside, but ultimately we lost the game with some scrappy balls. This set ended 25-11, victory to Basingstoke.

MVP: Izzy

To sum up our first two matches, there were definitely some moments of greatness – Asia hitting some lovely angles, Izzy and Addy attacking with lots of pressure, Helen blocking with great confidence, some good defending from Victoria, and Stef did a superb job as single setter, but there were also some other moments which perhaps weren’t so great but which we will learn from!

Match report written by Victoria