Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Vollox continue their strong season in the BVA

For their ninth and tenth games of the season,  Vollox faced Basingstoke and Spikeos 2, who were both sitting at the bottom of the table with no wins. Playing each other for the first time this season meant one of them was guaranteed at least a "1" in the win column, but would they make it "2" with a win against the illustrious Oxford team who are looking to defend their league title for a fourth season?

The fixture started with Vollox taking on Basingstoke who were expected to be the tougher opposition, with several experienced players on their team. While in previous games Vollox have taken a bit of time to find their rhythm, on this occasion they quickly found their feet.  A strong service run by Gareth put them in a commanding 12-2 lead, and they continued to apply pressure with a very efficient performance. There were very few unforced errors and they comfortably took the set 25-10.

The second set started more evenly, but Vollox again got into a groove and fought hard in a number of closely contested rallies to edge ahead. Greg was outstanding in defense and offense - the cherry on top of his MVP performance was solo-blocking Basingstoke on two consecutive points - he was a wall!  By the end Basingstoke seemed resigned to defeat and Vollox cruised to take the set (and match) 25-11.

Vollox then took to their refereeing duties and observed the game between Spikeos 2 and Basingstoke.  Based on the warm-up it looked to be an uneven contest, with Spikeos greatly lacking in experience.  The game started with Basingstoke siding out effectively and building a small lead, only for Spikeos' middle to go on a massive run of tough serves, which were compounded by Basingstoke's sudden drop in level. Reading built a lead and by the time Basingstoke fought back it was too late.  The second set followed a very similar story, and Spikeos 2 finished the match as surprise winners.

Vollox entered the final match slightly cautiously, not wanting to witness another surprise result.  Their worries quickly evaporated as Greg served for 12 points to put them in an impressive 19-3 lead.  Spikeos 2 had no answer to the firepower offered by Vollox and the final set score reflected the one-sided nature of the contest (25-5).  Credit to Spikeos 2 for not giving up - they fought as well as they could - but their inexperience showed against a Vollox team who were firing on all cylinders.  Martijn (MVP) was deadly on the outside, and Jon was distributing the ball very nicely (apart from when Rune was defending with his big sweaty arms!).  The second set ended 25-8, with Vollox reclaiming the top spot in BVA Men's Div 1.

Written by Gareth

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