Super League and NVL review (4th and 5th January) - Polonia move off the bottom with second consecutive win 

After suffering a frustrating first portion of the season, the London club have made good progress either side of Christmas, with their latest success being a 3-1 success over Essex Blaze at Northolt High School. 

 

The visitors, who were also victorious in their last match as the fight to avoid the drop heats up, and made a bright start in the only Super League match of the weekend as they claimed a tight first set 25-23. 

But Polonia were not to be denied and came storming back to win the next three 25-18, 25-13, 25-17, leaving them now just two points behind their opponents with two games in hand. 

It was a busy weekend in Division 1 for Hull Thunder, who suffered contrasting fortunes on their trip to the West Country. 

First, on Saturday, they fought off a strong Exeter Storm fightback to run out 3-2 victors at the Riverside Leisure Centre. 

The Humberside club won the first two sets 25-15, 25-16, but then the hosts claimed the next two 25-23, 25-17 to take the match to a decider. 

Hull, however, held their nerve to clinch the tie-breaker set 15-10 to record a third victory of the season. 

On Sunday, another topsy-turvy match saw Thunder lead 1-0 and 2-1 in sets before eventually losing out by just two points in the decider against Bristol. 

The home team’s 20-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-22, 15-13 success sees them go third in the table, two points ahead of Black Country. 

While Hull remain bottom following their three-point haul, they are now level on points with both Storm and Cambridge ARU and are just one point behind Tamworth Spartans and Newcastle Staffs. 

In Division 2 North, Sheffield went second with a 3-0 triumph over Leeds Gorse 2, where they won 25-22, 25-22, 25-19. 

The other men’s matches over the weekend were all triangular fixtures and in Division 3 North Central, Leicester moved to within a point of leaders Nottingham Rockets, albeit having played two more games. 

They beat both beat Wombourne 2 (25-15, 25-21, 25-12) and Tamworth Spartans 2 (25-16, 25-16, 25-19) in straight sets. 

Spartans beat Wombourne in the other match 25-8, 25-15 25-14 to register a third win of the season. 

Sheffield Springers and Liverpool continue to vie strongly for top spot in Division 3 North West, with both recording double victories. 

The Yorkshire leaders were 3-1 winners over both Urmston Grammar and York Falcons, with the former then coming from a set down to beat the latter 3-1 in the other fixture. 

The Merseysiders, meanwhile, are just three points behind with a game in hand after beating Sheffield 2 (3-0) and InterVolley Manchester (3-1), who were comfortable 3-0 winners in the cross-Pennines clash.

Invicta remain the team to beat in Division 3 South East after regaining top spot by making it eight matches unbeaten in 2024-25. 

They were conquerors of both Urbond Portsmouth and Tendring, both by a 3-1 margin, to give themselves a two-point cushion at the summit having played two games less than second-placed Onyx. 

In the other fixture Tendring were 3-1 winners to move to a 4-4 record and maintain a mid-table position. 

In the women’s section, there were no matches in the MAAREE Women’s Super League or Divisions 1 or 2, but a number of Division 3 sides were in triangular action. 

Southampton 2 went to the top of Division 3 South West – albeit having played three games more than unbeaten Reading Aces – with double victory over City of Bristol and Bristol 2. 

In the battle of the city rivals, it was Bristol 2 who prevailed 3-0 to move up into third place. 

Worthing remain top of Division 3 South East but would have been disappointed to lose one of their matches 3-1 to Spelthorne Sharks, but they did at least defeat Dartford Warriors by the same scoreline. 

Rarely does it happen, but all three teams were to go home with one win, as Dartford beat Spelthorne 3-1. 

The division’s other matches saw Invicta beaten twice, with Essex Ravens (3-0) and Ashcombe Dorking (3-1) coming away with the points. 

Wombourne continue to be in cruise control in Division 3 Central as they moved into double figures in terms of wins while maintaining a 100 per cent record in league matches. 

Nottingham Rockets and Coventry and Warwick Riga 2 were their latest victims, both by a 3-0 scoreline, while the Rockets beat Riga in straight sets. 

Manchester Moss Side Jaguars suffered a surprise first setback of the season in Division 3 North as they were beaten 3-1 by Hull Thunder. 

The Mancunians did see off city rivals Manchester Marvels Mystics in straight sets to move level on points with leaders Leeds Gorse 3, but they have now played a game more. 

The Mystics beat Thunder to further underline the Jaguars’ frustration at dropping valuable points. 

Manchester Liberators are now within touching distance of the top two after improving their record to 6-2 by beating Chester Amazons (3-1) and Newcastle Staffs 2 (3-0). Chester were 3-1 winners in the other triangular match. 

Polonia images by Marcin Urban.

---