Athena's inexperienced local league team took another big step in their development against an equally inexperienced Loughborough Uni team on Monday night. In the first set, Athena had Beth, Charlie, Julia, Kasia, Kamila and Emma on court. With Hannah injured and Ioana unavailable, we only had one setter in Emma, so we pressed Julia into service as our second setter. We made a solid start in the first set, playing well together with some solid passing and made good headway with the first few points. But Loughborough then took the lead with some solid serving and Athena struggled to find their momentum, with Loughborough taking the first set 13-25. The second set saw some player swaps, with Rebecca coming onto court for the first time for Athena and Charlie was put in as setter for the first time during a match. Athena made some excellent plays with a fantastic run of serves from Kamila. There were also some nice points scored from Kasia and Emma that edged us forwards - with Athena taking the second set 20-25. The third set started off with Loughborough gaining a long lead right off the bat. Both sides made mistakes, but Loughborough got ahead with a run of serves that took them into a 9 point lead that Athena just couldn't catch up to. Loughborough took the last set 25-10. Coach Paul said "we made some mistakes, but the mistakes were because of our lack of experience, and not because of a lack of heart." He went onto say how proud he was of the team, and how proud the players should all be of themselves since they have all shown improvement in the development of their volleyball. With thanks to Charlie for the match report.
1 Comment
Despite a 3-0 loss at home to PVC, Athena's local league side showed some excellent signs in only their second game of the season. Athena fielded 2 regional league players in Adela and Kamila to provide some experience and support for a very inexperienced squad. Emma and Hannah started off as setters, with Kamila and Liza through the middle and Adela and Julia as outside hitters. The first set started quite evenly, with both teams serving and receiving well. But Athena couldn't keep up their focus and started to miss some serve receives. Halfway through the first set, Hannah sprained her thumb and, for the second set, she was replaced as setter by Adela. This meant that Kasia came on to the play as outside hitter. Again, the team started well, but their inexperience meant that they dipped in the middle of the set. In the final set, Charlie and Beth came on to help them continue their development. PVC fielded a very strong and experienced team which showed as they won 25-12, 25-12, 25-19. They worked hard and made less mistakes than Athena and were well worth their victory. For Athena, Beth and Charlie have only started playing this season and they showed some good touches. Kasia and Julia are 17 and still learning, Kasia showed a lot of composure in back court. Emma grew and grew into the role of setter. By the third set, her sets were clear and accurate and she showed that she has a lot of potential. Having been recently elected as captain, Liza played with great commitment and emotion. After the match, Hannah went to the LRI and was confirmed to have sustained a sprained thumb meaning she will be out of action for 6-8 weeks. Get better soon, Hannah, we will miss your enthusiasm and smile. Athena's local league team started the new season with a spirited performance against PVC.
Athena started with Hannah and Joy setting, Liza and Rebecca playing middle and Erin and Julia as outside hitters and they started really well, keeping pace with the much more experienced PVC side. The back court coverage and service receive were particularly good but errors in attack meant that PVC won the first set 25-15. In the second set, Emma replaced Joy as setter and Athena continued their good work. Hannah's thumb injury meant that Joy was back on court midway through the set and the change knocked their confidence and they let the set run away 25-15 again. In the final set, Kasia came on for Erin in her first match with us and Athena played really well to build a good lead. PVC came roaring back and coach Kaerger decided to blood Emily and Bethan for their first ever matches. PVC won a much closer final set. Despite the 3-0 loss, the team work was excellent, the energy and enthusiasm was infectious and Athena did a lot of the simple things well. We played three 17 year olds, and Charlie, Emily and Bethan played their first ever competitive volleyball matches. As coach Kaerger said "The local league team is about player development and I was so pleased to see so many great performances". Only TWO weeks to the start of pre-season training. Excited!!!
We start again on Friday 1st September at 8 pm. The first three sessions will be all about boosting fitness and going over basic skills and will be open for all players - that is Friday 1st, Wednesday 6th and Friday 8th. After that, we will split into local league and regional training. Additionally, we are hoping to start a 3rd team ... a junior team that will compete in the local league too. For more details, follow this link. It has been a fascinating, fun, enjoyable and mad-cap first season. Here is our look back at the highlights and the lessons we learnt from the local league team. If we are honest, we hadn't planned to create a local league team, but we got so many juniors and beginners that we embraced it and began to share the weekly three-hour training sessions between the regional league team and the local league team. This meant that we started the season late and had to pack a lot of matches in after Christmas. As new people arrived, we tried to give them court time meaning we rarely had a settled side. However, the aim of the local league has not been about winning matches, our aim has to been to develop payers, give people court time and to have fun. So here are the stats:
Next season, the local league team will have their own dedicated training night. We will focus on junior development and try to play as many young players and beginners as possible. We want the local league team to be the start of their journey but we definitely want to have players develop into regional league players. That's the aim ... let's see what next season brings. I want to thank everyone for coming to training, for playing, for bringing their fun, for coping with the challenges, you made this season memorable. THANK YOU!! Season 2016-17 results
*FF = forfeited match
Appearances 7 -Julia (J), Joy, Liza 6 - Erin (J) 4 - Olga, Rhetta 3 - Annabel, Amanda, Hannah, Erica (J), Monica 2 - Antra (J), Danusia, Valentina (R) 1 - Kamila, Kinga (R), Samantha (R) J = Junior, R - Regional Athena's local league team lost the final match of the season to a very experienced PVC side.
Athena had Hannah starting as setter and gave a debut to Kamila. Olga was the other setter with Liza and Monica through the middle and Erin playing outside. It was a new line-up and the team struggled with their positions which meant that PVC sprang into an early and commanding lead. PVC's first server took them to an 8-1 lead and they never looked back. As the set wore on, Athena players started to show some form and develop some rallies, but they were no match. and lost the set 25-9. Paul changed the team to bring Joy in for Hannah and Julia in for Kamila. The team looked more stable with Erin and Julia giving the team a more solid base in back court and Julia converting that into good hits. Even so, PVC won the second set 25-13. For the final set, coach Paul rang the changes again to make sure everyone got as much court time as possible; Hannah replaced Olga, Kamilla switched to middle leaving Erin and Julia as outside hitters. PVC continued to serve well and dominate to win the third set 25-8. Although the score looks bruising, this was Monica's third match, Hannah's third match for us and it was Kamila's first match of any sort for 11 years. The local league team exists to help people to develop and to get people back into volleyball. The squad has had a lot less practice time, therefore, we are delighted that so many girls and women have taken to the court and have shown real development. More importantly, it is so rewarding to hear the laughter and enjoyment of all the players. Athena had to show a lot of battling qualities to beat a PVC side that was unbeaten in 3. Bereft of many players, the local league team looked to Valentina and Kinga from the regional league team to bolster their ranks. and the changes seemed to create doubt for the players as they really struggled in the first set. They were a long way down when Julia stepped up to serve. Five good serves later, Athena found themselves winning the set 25-23.
Joy then came on for Olga to set in the second and the team again started slowly, In a mirror of the first set, PVC pulled away into a commanding lead only to be dragged back at the death by some solid serving by Valentina, a much improved back court performance especially from Liza and fabulous hitting from Julia,. Athena stole the set 25-23 and thereby won the match. In the third set, Joy and Olga were setting with Erica now moving into a very unfamiliar position as outside hitter. The third set was nip and tick with PVC picking holes in Athena's defence and the built up a strong lead of 23-16. Another round of strong serving from Valentina brought the scores closer but PVC sealed the final set 25-23. PVC may feel aggrieved as they played really well, but mental toughness meant that Athena won without playing anywhere near their capabilities. Well done to Joy, Olga, Kinga, Valentina, Liza, Erica and MVP Julia. Two wins against Loughborough University on Monday night went some way to lifting spirits after Amanda suffered an injury which resulted in her going to hospital for an -ray on a very painful wrist.
The local team had their re-match against Loughborough Uni. They started very poorly, struggling to come to terms with being in strange surroundings - all their previous matches having been at home. With injured captain, Annabel on the sidelines, the team were second best in all departments in the first set. The second set started better and they were in contention when an accidental clash left Amanda crumpled on the floor clutching her wrist. After some first aid, she was led off to the Loughborough walk-in medical centre. Valentina, from the regional league squad quickly stepped into the match despite having no warm up. After the shock of the injury, the team took a bit of time to regain their focus, but slowly, they began to claw back Loughborough;s advantage until they were a 22 each. Each team swapped points as the tension rose and rose but Athena seemed to generate a real togetherness to tough out a 29-27 win. You could sense the relief and sense that the team had turned a corner and so it proved with Athena gutsing it out to a 25-23 win in the final set. A 2-1 win against a good Loughborough Uni side ... the local league's team first win. Demolition Derby The local league team were quickly replaced by the regional league team and, right from the off, Athena looked way too strong for Loughborough's regional league team. Sarah began serving and took us to a 9-0 lead and the team played with real power and precision to win 25-14. The second set was much closer as Loughborough rallied really well but Athena showed they had the toughness required to win close sets and they won 25-23. The final set was much like the first with MVP, Sarah, leading from the front with superb serving taking another 9-0 win. They continued to dominate through Valentina's and Kristy's destructive hitting, winning the third set 25-9. A real powerhouse of a performance and a big step up in quality from their first win against Nottingham Rockets. Huge congratulations to Kristy, Kinga, Sam, Rhets, Valentina, Alysia and Sarah. On Friday, Athena's local league team played its third game ever game, this time against the Loughborough University women's team. The girls fought hard in the first set, winning it 25-19. They were focused and played a number of good rallies.
Loughborough changed their system a little bit and picked up the pace in the second set and Athena lost its captain when Annabell twisted her ankle and had to be replaced by Olga. The loss of Annabell clearly shook the team and the loss of focus resulted in Athena losing the second set 18-25. Into the final set we went and, despite Julia's excellent serving and Erin's attacks, Athena were unable to stop Loughborough from winning the third set 18-25. All in all the girls came off court happy with their performance and excited to play again on Monday. The girls keep improving and we can't wait to watch them play again. Well done to Joy, Rhets, Erin, Julia, Olga, Liza, Hannah, Amanda and Annabell. Injury update - Sunday 22nd Jan Annabell has suffered a sprain to her ankle and is up and about on crutches. |
Archives
August 2023
Categories
All
|