Super League reviews (8th and 9th February) - Giants men make move with big wins

After winning promotion from Division 1 last season, the capital side had an indifferent time of things in the lead up to Christmas. 

But since then the team has won five games out of six – losing only to league leaders Essex Rebels – to propel themselves from a side seeking to avoid the drop to one which now has a serious chance of clinching a play-off place. 

Their latest two successes, against Malory Eagles and the University of Nottingham, will really have made their rivals sit up and take up and notice. 

On Saturday, the Giants made the short trip to Ernest Bevin College to face the league’s second-placed side and produced a superb performance. 

After winning the first set, Eagles came powering back and levelled the match at 1-1 but the visitors were not to be denied and they edged a tight third set before closing out the match (25-18, 26-28, 28-26, 25-21). 

The Giants were able to keep their momentum going into Sunday’s second match of the weekend, this time on their home court, in beating their East Mislands visitors.

 

Their straight sets (25-24, 25-16, 25-20) triumph saw them leapfrog above the Green and Golds to go third in the table, albeit having played two more games. 

Lovepreet Sandhu served four aces, hit nine kills and made two blocks and five digs for the victors, while Kiryl Kraseuski served three aces, completed all six service returns and made 11 kills, one block and five digs. 

The visitors’ Joelson Santy completed 13 kills and made one block and eight digs. 

For UoN, their trip to the capital was not entirely a disappointment as they had already beaten IBB Polonia – who had drafted in a number of players from Poland in a bid to aid their battle against relegation – in a five-set thriller on Saturday. 

The hosts trailed 1-0 and were then 2-1, but fought back to square the match each time, only for Freddie Fairburn’s to edge a tense tie break and record an eighth win of the season (25-20, 22-25, 28-26, 19-25, 15-13). 

Griffin Walters served two aces, successfully completed all 19 service returns, made a game-high 35 kills, one block and three digs, while Lisle Costard completed six kills and five blocks and Rob Morgan completed 35 out of 38 service return attempts, eight kills and nine blocks. 

For IBB, Dahmane Bentiti hit 20 kills, made one block and completed four digs, while newcomer Igor Ciemachowski made 13 kills. 

There was more heartbreak for Polonia when going the distance on Sunday as Essex Rebels moved to within touching distance of a Final 4 place by again winning by two points in the decider. 

The hosts took the first set and dropped the next two before battling back to take the fourth and ensure the match went all the way. 

But Alex Porter’s side – who were missing regular libero Lefteris Ioannou held their nerve (28-30, 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 17-15) to retain their record of only having lost once this campaign, opening up a four-point lead at the top over Malory and booking their Final 4 spot in the process. 

The other two matches saw Stockport and Durham Palatinates play each other twice in the same weekend, with each side enjoying home court advantage once. 

But it was Durham who enjoyed victory on both occasions to revive their Final 4 hopes after a difficult recent run – albeit those succesess were secured in contrasting circumstances. 

The sides met in Greater Manchester on Saturday in what turned out to be yet another five-setter. 

The visitors twice went in front only to be pegged back before sealing the tie break by the slenderest of margins (26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-13). 

Alexei Walisser served two aces, completed 16 out of 17 service return attempts, made 19 kills and nine digs for Durham, while Chey Cooper served one ace, completed 30 out of 32 service return attempts, kit 15 kills and six digs. 

For Stockport, Haydn Lawson served no less than seven aces, completed 24 out of 25 service return attempts, 18 kills, one block and 16 digs for Stockport in an ultimately losing cause. 

Michael Smyk (18), Wai Pan Shih (16), Matt Birch (14) also added double figures kills. 

Up in the North East, after taking a close first, set, it proved to be a much simpler task for the Palatinates as they ran out victors in three (26-24, 25-18, 25-20). 

Durham are now back up to fifth, a point of the top four, while Stockport remain bottom by one point. 

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Two of the teams are now confirmed for Final 4 in the MAAREE Women’s Super League after Team SideOut Polonia and Malory Eagles both enjoyed victories. 

In league leaders’ Polonia’s case, it was two home wins across the weekend, getting the job done with the minimum of fuss on each occasion. 

A confident and comfortable success over struggling University of Nottingham on Saturday (25-15, 25-18, 25-21) was to perhaps be expected. 

But they also dispatched Lionhearts Vinarius – a Final 4-chasing side who had taken them to five sets earlier in the season – with ease (25-15, 25-15, 25-15) to show the rest of the division they mean business. 

Abby Russell served one ace, completed 11 returns and made 15 kills, three blocks and two digs for Polonia, while Kasey Bell added seven kills and six blocks and Alice Jagielska six kills and four blocks. 

For Vinarius, Maria Sviridova served three aces, completed 24 out of 26 service return attempts and made nine kills, one block, eight digs. 

Malory, meanwhile, ensured their campaign will go on beyond the end of the regular season after beating Leeds Gorse 26-24, 25-17, 25-20 at home. 

Getting a maximum points haul by beating the fifth-placed team was enough to ensure the London side cannot now finish any worse than fourth, even if they went winless for the remainder of the season. 

Leeds did not return home from their trip down south completely empty handed as they made the trip down to the South Coast and proved too strong for Wessex (25-18, 25-15, 25-21). 

The bottom-of-the-tables side had also been outgunned a day earlier against third-placed Essex Rebels, who took their season record to 9-3 on the back of a 25-13, 25-16, 25-23 success. 

Kathea Schamblin served five aces, completed all 10 service return attempts and made nine digs, while Catherine Tolley made four blocks and four kills and Chelsea Simmons served three aces, completed 22 out of 52 assists attempts and made seven digs. 

There was a noteable moment for Wessex players Natasha and Sophia Chedgy as daughter replaced mum as a substitute during the course of the match and went on to land the MVP award. 

Just like their men’s side, Durham Palatinates enjoyed a confidence-boosting weekend, but it appears that, with just three games of their regular season to go, a late push for the Final 4 will come too late. 

They capitalised on edging a tight first set to go on and beat a Darkstar Derbyshire containing former player Alice Brand in straight sets (26-25, 25-20, 25-14) on Saturday. 

Even so, they are still seven points behind fourth-placed Vinarius having played a game more, so it will take something remarkable for the reigning champions to defend their crown from here.  

Action images by Damien Acquart (@dartist_photography)

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