Under 16 Junior Grand Prix review: Urmston A boys and Leeds Gorse girls lead charge into Last 8

These teams will now play-off at the National Volleyball Centre on Kettering on Sunday 9th March, with the top two boys’ and girls’ teams going forward to Cup Finals in April, where the overall winner will be crowned as National Champions.

In the boys’ section, Urmston Grammar A have finished top of the National rankings on 37 points, with Richmond A having the same number, but with a slightly inferior sets difference.

They are followed by Leeds Gorse Orange (33), Richmond B, The Boswells School (both 31), Bristol (30) and Newcastle Staffs and MK City (both 29).

In the girls’ section, Leeds Gorse Orange have finished top of the pile on 37 points, with Malory Eagles and Richmond A close behind on 35.

Following on from them are The Boswells School (33), South Hants (31) and Urmston Grammar A, Richmond B and South Bucks (all 29).

Volleyball England would like to send congratulations to all teams who have made the Last 8.

Those positions were finalised after a high-octane weekend of play where 75 teams competed for ranking points.

A total of 31 boys' teams competed in eight pools across Tier 1 and Tier 2, while 44 girls' teams showcased their talent in 11 pools.

Matches in the boys’ section were played on Saturday (18th January), with Tier 1 Gold Pool A, played at the Boswells School, once again dominated by Richmond A, who had finished top of the pool in the previous round as well.

The South West London side emerged victorious in all three of their matches, securing the top spot.

However, second-placed Bristol didn’t make it easy for them and their showdown, the final match of the pool, determined who would top the table.

The intense clash saw Richmond A come out strongly, taking the first set, but Bristol fought back, winning the second set 25-19.

In the end, Richmond A triumphed, by taking command in the final set 15-9, while secured the runner-up spot after defeating both third-placed Boswells and fourth-placed Richmond B.

On the other side of the boys' Gold pool, in Gold Pool B, Urmston Grammar A finished the round unbeaten, maintaining a perfect record and conceding fewer than 100 points along the way.

Leeds Gorse Orange finished second in the pool, with their only loss coming against the dominant table-toppers, who won in straight sets.

To complete the pool the hosts, Newcastle Staffs, clinched third place, earning a single victory over fourth-placed MK City.

In Silver Pool C, South Hants led the way capital, ahead of Wessex, Deep Dish Crystal Palace and London Lynx.

The table-toppers finished with three wins from three, dropping just one set in the process during a closely-contested set against second-placed Wessex, where both teams won a set each.

However, South Hants ultimately triumphed, clinching a hard-fought 15-11 victory in the decider.

Wessex had to battle hard to secure the runner-up spot, with two of their matches going to a third set.

They won one and lost the other, finishing with two wins from three to claim second place ahead of third-placed Deep Dish Crystal Palace.

Despite the home advantage, the hosts couldn't capitalise and ended the round in fourth.

Urmston Grammar B won all three of their matches, including acoming back from a set down to defeat third-placed South Bucks Mavericks in three sets, to ultimately seal the top spot in Silver Pool D.

Nottingham Rockets finished closely behind, claiming the runner-up spot as, despite their loss to the pool winners, they triumphed over third-placed South Bucks Mavericks, who impressed by taking a set off every team in the pool, as well as fourth-placed Black Country.

Bronze Pool E was highly competitive, with four out of six matches going to a decisive third set.

The battle for the top spot was a fierce battle, with two teams finishing on four points each, securing two wins and one loss.

However, it was Sheffield who narrowly edged out second-placed Preston Panthers, having defeated them during the round andthe South Yorkshire club’s superior point difference of +20, compared to Lamncastrians' -3, placed them at the top of the table.

The competition for third and fourth place was equally tight, with Stockport and Leeds Gorse Purple both finishing with two points, but the former’s set difference proved to be slightly better.

At AST Academy, Bronze Pool F saw Team SideOut finish top of the pile after three victories from three, winning a final set showdown 15-13 against Dartford, who eventually finished third.

The host team were second, while Richmond C finished fourth after just missing out in a three setter against AST.

In Tier 2, Pool A was played at Worthing and saw London Giants win the five-strong group with a maximum points haul.

In contrast, just two teams featured in Pool B at Nuneaton, playing each other twice, with Tamworth Spartans coming out on top against Nugby on both occasions.

Malory Eagles signalled their intentions moving into the Last 8 as they won Gold Pool A at Richmond in convincing fashion without dropping a set.

They stunned runners up Richmond A in the process, edging a tight first set 25-23 and then running away with the second 25-9.

Their defeated opponents were pushed hard in other games too, most notably when taking both sets against third-placed South Hants by two points and by club-mates Richmond B.

Leeds Gorse Orange took charge of Gold Pool B with three excellent wins but were made to work by South Hants, who took them to three sets.

Behind them, there was little to choose between The Boswells School, Hants and Urmston Grammar, who all won one and lost two of their matches.

They were placed in that order by set difference and, in the case of the latter two, points difference.

It was a strange sensation for Urmston to finish bottom of the pool after winning the opening game of the day, but a reflection of the competitiveness of all teams.

Silver Pool C at Ashcombe was headed up by Wessex as they came through two three setters to win out on all their matches.

Hosts Ashcombe Dorking were the best of the rest as they beat third placed Willesden Divets in three - thanks to a decisive 15-4 margin in the tie break - and fourth placed Wapping Wildcats.

Silver Pool D was about as close as it gets, with three teams all winning two matches and losing one to finish on four points.

In the end, hosts Newcastle Staffs A had a better points difference (11) than Black Country (4), with both having a sets difference of two.

Ashfield Vipers were third with a set difference of one, clear above Urmston Grammar B, who made up the reckoning.

Bronze Pool E at London Lynx had MK City as worthy winners, winning the crucial decider against runners up VBDC 15-13.

London Giants beat Lynx in the fight for third and fourth.

Weymouth were a dominant force in Bronze Pool F in Worthing, securing success in all three of their matches in straight sets.

Deep Dish Crystal Palace clinched two victories to finish second and were followed by Worthing and South Bucks B.

Five teams contested an evenly-matched Bronze Pool G, with all teams winning at least one match.

Hosts Wirral had the best record at the end of the day’s play with two wins and two draws to top the standings.

Newcastle Staffs B (17), Stockport (-7) and Hull Thunder (-12) were separated only on points difference, with Nottingham Rockets just below them.

In Tier 2, Richmond C, as joint hosts, won all three of their matches to top Pool A, while Dartford did likewise to win Pool B, hosted by South Hants.

Cardiff Celts claimed Pool C in Coventry with a 100% record and Sheffield proved to be the pick of a three-team Pool C, played in Wakefield.

Volleyball England would like to thank all host venues for staging pools.

---

For all the national junior competitions fixtures and results, click here.

Keep up to date with all the action via our social media channels Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.