Super League round 8 preview – Borrowdale hopes Leeds can push for top four spot heading into Super League Live fixture

But a chance meeting with well-known England indoor coach Steve McKeown while she was training ]in the park set off the chain of events that led her down an alternative sporting path. 

“My first introduction to volleyball was when I was about 10 or 11 and I was doing my athletics training, as I was at the age where I was having a go at a few different sports, including horse riding and lacrosse as well,” said Eva. 

“But Steve happened to see me as he walked through the park, this tall, lanky young girl, and thought that I could have potential to play volleyball. 

“I was doing quite well in athletics, but Steve wanted me to come along to Sheffield and asked my parents if I could go along to try out. 

“I think it was quite apparent quite quickly that I was going to stay in volleyball. I liked the team sport aspect of it. That’s what I still love about it now, especially getting to meet a lot of people and be part of a community. 

“I got thrown in at the deep end at Sheffield as there was no junior team at the time, playing with the adults and uni students, but it helped me progress.” 

Athletics’ loss has most definitely been volleyball’s gain, with the now-Leeds Gorse player one of the standout English players in the MAAREE Women’s Super League. 

The 26-year-old outside hitter played her volleyball in her home city until the age of 21, both for her club and then while studying for a degree in Events Management and Experiential Marketing at Sheffield Hallam University. 

It was then that, for her Masters (in Marketing with a specialism in Social Media), Eva took the opportunity take up a scholarship and play college volleyball at the University of Alabama in the United States. 

As well as helping add another dimension to her play, it also gave her a taste of what the game is like at a higher level. 

Eva said: “It was the big-name uni within the state and where a lot of players who got drafted for the NFL (National Football League) went, so it was a big deal for me. 

“There was a lot of money going into it from a sports point of view – it seemed like everyone was a sports fan, including all the lecturers - and they took care of your every need. Everything was set up for you to succeed. 

“It was my first taste of what it would have been like to go pro. We could train in the morning and the afternoon and it was all very flexible in terms of your studies so you could travel and prepare to play. 

“It was a lot different to what I had experienced at Sheffield, who were also very supportive, but everything in the States was geared up for it in great detail.” 

The natural progression seemed for Eva to try her hand at professional volleyball – and that was originally the plan. 

However, the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic meant she was forced to abandon that idea and return the UK, where she began her off-court career in earnest, and she now workss as a Digital Project Manager, largely in the pharmaceutical industry. 

Eva maintains she has not completely turned her back on playing as a professional, though, which has been a long-held ambition of hers since her time in America, and “would love to play at least one season” in that environment, feeling she still has time on her side. 

For now, though, sheis enjoying her time playing for Leeds Gorse, which is around an hour’s drive from her Sheffield base for her to train and play home matches. 

“When I first came from the US, I took a bit of time out to get back to full fitness because I had picked up a few injuries during my time there and it was good to let the body heal,” said Eva. 

“I started getting back into coaching (helping out with the Yorkshire regional squad when she can) and the young players I was coaching were asking me why I was not playing and eventually I thought that maybe I should get back into the playing. 

“I knew Holly Bentley well from my days in the England juniors as she said that I should go along to play with Leeds, who were going to be in the Super League. 

“There were other people I knew there as well, including the Van Essen sisters (Molly and Sarah) who were both on the England programme and used to room with Rosie Barley and I, taking us under their wings because they were a bit older than us. 

“Leeds is one of the favourite clubs I have played for and it is fantastic what they are doing with the Trust by trying to develop young players. Plus there is a fantastic bunch of girls in the first team willing to train hard in a really good environment. 

“It can be tricky at times to get up there for training after work, but my employers are really understanding and supportive and I’ve changed my hours to finish at 5pm, rather than 6pm, which has really helped.” 

Leeds Gorse have had a steady start to the 2024-25 season and currently sit fourth in the Super League table with a 4-3 record from their seven games, accumulating 13 points. 

They are determined to improve on last season’s mid-table position and hope they can put together enough good results to claim a place in the Final 4. 

“That’s the aim,” said Eva, who already has 65 kills to her name. “Last year was a building year for us, where we had a few new players and were getting used to each other, but this year we have higher aspirations. 

“We want to stay in those higher positions in the league and while we can’t put too much pressure on ourselves – a lot of us have working lives and we can only train once or twice a week, not five times a week – we are all really up for trying to move to that next level.” 

This Sunday, the second Super League Live broadcast of the season will come from the Ruth Gorse Academy as Leeds host the Durham Palatinates, while Darkstar Derbyshire will take on London Vinarius. 

It follows the successful launch of the concept last week at Crystal Palace, where Malory Eagles beat IBB Polonia  and Richmond Docklands edged out hosts London Giants at the Crystal Place National Sports Centre in front of the live streaming cameras.  

This weekend’s matches will be once again be available to watch on the Volleyball England YouTube Channel, will be available to watch by clicking here. 

Eva said: “I heard that last weekend’s event in London was fantastic with the live streams and commentaries and it’s great to be having that in Leeds. 

“It’s brilliant that, through this, the sport is being made more accessible to people, which will help drive the interest in it. 

“Volleyball has always been a minority sport in the UK, but to see it on the streaming and all the social media that is going out, with the stats, will make it more appealing and hopefully help bring people into the sport.” 

Eva sees Gorse’s match against the Palatinates as one of their most important of the season so far as the West Yorkshire Club look to underline their status as top four challengers. 

After only losing one regular season game in 2023-24, Durham have started slowly by their own high ultra-high standards, having won four and lost two so far. 

“They had such a strong team last year that it was really hard, but this is a new season and there a quite a few changes in the team from then,” said Eva. 

“They are still strong, but this is a chance for us to check on our progress and hopefully set us on the right course for the rest of the season. 

“We are going to go into it all guns blazing and see what we can do.” 

Donations, in lieu of spectator admission, for the Leeds leg of Super League Live can be made by clicking here.

For all the Super League fixtures, results and latest news, click here.

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