East Midlands Volleyball League
Wednesday 6th March 2019 Leicester Athena 1 Lincoln Cannons 3 (11-25, 25-16, 21-25, 20-25) Athena's chances of beating Lincoln Cannons were hampered by injuries to captain, Julia, and setter, Eli. Athena started with Eli setting, Julia playing opposite, Marta and Sam middle, Edyta and Algi playing as outside hitters. But Athena started very slowly. Their passing was inaccurate causing Eli problems with setting. Lincoln's serving was not dangerous but it was accurate and when Athena did build an attack, their defence was well-organised enough to cope with anything that Athena threw at them. Late in the first set, Julia went up to block and came down hard on her right ankle twisting it. She was carried off court in tears and taken to hospital for x-rays. Ioana came on for Julia in an unusual position for her. Lincoln won the first set 25-11. Athena swapped Kamila for Sam, and they played with greater intensity and built a strong lead. The pass was more consistent, giving Eli the chance to feed Kamila whose hits caused Cannons problems. It wasn't great volleyball, with lots of swinging arms and desperate lunges, but hard work and determination drove Athena to win 25-16. Lincoln came back stronger in the third set and took a big lead, but Athena re-grouped and started to eat back into the lead. Marta's serving finally clicked and she produced an excellent display that pushed Athena to within 2 points. Coach Paul, then brought Amanda on for Marta in the back court but Lincoln stretched away again to win 25-21. Athena brought on Sam for Marta and both teams worked hard with barely more than 3 points between the teams in the fourth set, but Athena could not close the gap and Lincoln won the match 25-20. With Julia's injury and Eli struggling with a long-standing injury, it was a difficult evening for Athena but it did feel like an opportunity missed considering the players who were on court. It felt like a disjointed performance with a lack of fluidity. Thankfully, Saturday brings another match and another chance to build up a head of steam. UPDATE: Julia has a badly sprained ankle and it is likely that she will be out for up to 2 months. Take your time Julia and come back even stronger!
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