NVL Review (22nd and 23rd February) - Southampton women go down as Leeds Gorse men as crowned champions

It has been a difficult campaign for the South Coast club, with just one victory to their name, which came at Essex Trinity earlier this month. 

And what has looked on the cards for a while was confirmed on Sunday as they were beaten 3-1 at home by Leicester Athena (25-21, 25-21, 25-27, 25-21), who took their own record to 9-4 to solidify third place in the table. 

For Riga it is far from cut and dried, but their position is becoming ever-more perilous, and the threat of back-to-back relegations looms. 

After their 3-1 home defeat to Everton Belugas (25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 25-23) they remain a point behind Richmond, having played the same number of games. 

At the other end of the table, London Giants maintained their chase of leaders Newcastle Knights with another victory, this time over Stockport (25-20, 26-24, 25-21). 

They are six points behind with a game in hand ahead of their Wednesday match with capital neighbours Richmond. 

Team South Wales suffered a first defeat of the season in Division 2 West as they defeated at Black Country. 

The visitors took the first set, but the West Midlanders reeled off the next three to win 20-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-20.

The Welsh club’s rivals for promotion both took full advantage to bump them down to third in the table, albeit having played less games. 

Bristol were 3-0 winners at Cheltenham and Gloucester (25-21, 25-16, 25-20), while Bedminster, on Sunday, beat Black Country 3-1 (25-13, 25-22, 25-22, 25-18). 

What could be a key clash in the race to finish as runners-up in Division 2 East took place on Saturday and saw Richmond 2 run out 3-1 winners against National Shield semi-finalists Northampton. 

Their 25-17, 25-12, 17-25, 25-21 success puts them five points clear of their opponents in second, having played a game more. 

Cambridge remain odds-on favourites to win the division after they completed a reverse sweep to break the hearts of Herts. 

Their 24-26, 25-27, 26-24, 25-15, 15-9 triumph leaves them six points clear at the summit with three of their games left. 

Elsewhere, Dartford Chargers and Onyx were level on points before their match but a win for their former (25-10, 25-18, 25-23) takes them three points ahead. 

First met second in South Yorkshire as The Miners Doncaster met Manchester Marvels Mayhem (pictured) in a game that lived up to its billing. 

The match swung one way then the other before the side from the West of the Pennines won the decider by just two points (20-25, 25-16, 25-14, 21-25, 15-13). 

Although Marvels are still in second spot by two points, they now have four games in hand on The Miners, who have just one game left. 

It was a great weekend for Loughborough Students whose back-to-back maximum points wins over Newcastle Staffs on Saturday (25-23, 25-16, 25-7) and Sheffield (25-20, 12-25, 25-23, 25-21) carried them up to third. 

In Division 3 North, third-placed Manchester Liberators secured what could be an important victory over second-placed Leeds Gorse 3, winning a five-set thriller to close the gap to their rivals to four points with a game in hand. 

Leeds Gorse 2 fared better as they beat both Hull Thunder (3-0) and Chester Amazons (3-1) in a Sunday triangular to go fourth. 

Chester beat Hull in straight sets in the third match of the series. 

Darkstar Derbyshire 2 took advantage of Lincoln Cannon’s inactivity to go six points clear in their bid to finish second behind champions Wombourne in Division 3 Central. 

They beat Coventry and Warwick Riga 2 3-1 and Ashfield Vipers 3-0 at Ashfield School, while the latter edged a five-setter to extend their lead over the West Midlanders to nine points. 

Sussex Dolphins have been confirmed as Division 3 South East champions after two Saturday triangular wins over Essex Ravens and Spelthorne Sharks, both by 3-0 margins, while Essex saw off Spelthorne in the other match. 

The Dolphins’ points haul, combined with a defeat for second-placed Worthing to Ashcombe on Sunday (3-2), means that the South Coast side cannot now be caught. 

Worthing did, however, beat Richmond 3 and Ashcombe secured a double by also defeating the Londoners, both in three. 

A bumper weekend of fixtures in Division 3 South West saw all nine teams in action across three triangulars. 

The most important saw the top two meet at Kendrick School where Reading Aces ensured they kept their unbeaten run intact by beating Southampton 2 by a 3-0 scoreline, along with Weymouth, also in three sets. 

Southampton are now three points behind their rivals having played two more matches despite beating Weymouth 3-1. 

Just a point further back are Bristol 2, who enjoyed a successful trip to Devon, seeing off the challenge of both Plymouth 3-2 and Plymouth UTV 3-0. 

In the battle of the city rivals, Plymouth beat UTV 3-1, but are still two points behind them in the league table. 

Portsmouth are in fourth place and are also in the mix to finish second after 3-1 successes over City of Bristol and Bedminster 2, with the latter winning the other fixture 3-0. 

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Leeds Gorse completed their expected return to Super League as champions of Men’s Division 1 with a comfortable victory at Cambridge ARU (25-16, 25-22, 25-22). 

The West Yorkshire side have been a cut above their rivals all season and after wrapping up the title on the road on Saturday, they returned home on Sunday to beat London Aces 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 16-25, 25-22). 

The results leave them a humungous 20 points clear of their nearest rivals and they now have just two games left to round off their season. 

The Aces could take some solace from the fact they had already recorded a Saturday victory at Hull Thunder, running out 25-10, 25-15, 22-25, 25-22 winners. 

Up to second are Bristol after they earned maximum points to take their record to 11-4 with a straight sets home win over struggling Tamworth Spartans (25-20, 25-23, 25-19). 

They made the most of Black Country’s home defeat to Exeter Storm, who won a five-set thriller by just two points in the decider after coming back from 2-1 down (18-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 17-15). 

Newcastle Staffs remain in contention for second place and the play-off spot after they took close order with a four-set triumph at home to Lincoln Cannons (25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 25-11). 

Although six points behind Bristol, they have a game in hand, so will hope to force the pace in the closing stages of the season in what is an extremely competitive decision. 

Division 2 North leaders and National Shield semi-finalists Manchester Marvels tasted defeat for the first time this season, losing in four sets at Leeds Gorse 2. 

The hosts’ 25-18, 20-25, 25-17, 25-13 Sunday success was their fifth in a row, having also defeated Wigan Seahawks 25-19, 25-20, 25-23 on Saturday. 

It has propelled them up to third in the table, though their late charge is likely to come too late to affect the destination of the title. 

Sheffield remain second after a Saturday walkover win over King of Court, who did take on Newcastle Staffs 2 on Sunday and registered a 25-22, 25-19, 25-21 triumph. 

Darkstar Derbyshire retained their mid-table position with a 3-0 success relegation-threatened Harrogate (25-20, 27-25, 25-17). 

The top two in Division 2 Central both clinched victories to keep their respective title bids on track. 

Leaders Rhinos Volleyball Cambridge dropped the second set but otherwise were reasonably comfortable in beating Northampton 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-15, 25-19) on Sunday, having battled to a four-sets won over Norwich Spikers on Saturday (25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 25-19). 

Second placed Coventry and Warwick Riga, five points behind but with two games in hand, kept up the pressure with a hard-fought success over the Spikers (26-24, 25-23, 25-22) on Sunday. 

At the bottom, Cambridge finally got off the mark at the 11th time of asking, edging out MK City in five (25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-10). 

Richmond Bucks reinvigorated their title hopes in Division 2 South with consecutive victories, including against high-flying Wessex. 

They beat the South Coast club in a five-set thriller on Sunday, having trailed 1-0 and led 2-1 (24-26, 25-18, 25-23, 18-25, 15-9). 

It followed a four-set triumph on Saturday over Hounslow (24-26, 25-14, 25-20, 25-13) that leaves them three points clear at the summit. 

Despite their loss to Bucks, Wessex also secured an important win, beating Southampton in five (21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 15-13) who are three points further back in third. 

Southampton, too, played on both days, overcoming Hounslow in straight sets (25-21, 25-15, 25-22), while Cardiff Falcons went the distance to reverse sweep Wiltshire Mavericks on the road (23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 15-12). 

Nottingham Rockets cemented their place as Division 3 North champions as they made it 14 games without defeat in straight sets wins over GNG Bedford and Tamworth Spartans 2 (pictured). 

GNG won the third match of the triangular fixture 3-1 to maintain third place in the table. 

Leicester, though, remain the front runners to clinch second spot after edging out Wombourne 3-1 and beating Darkstar Derbyshire 2 3-1. 

Wombourne, who occupy fourth, were straight sets victors over Darkstar to round off proceedings at Limehurst Academy. 

All nine teams had Saturday matches in Division 3 North West, where Sheffield Springers earned maximum points against Intervolley Manchester (3-1) and, importantly, Manchester Moss Side (3-0). 

The latter are third after experiencing only a third defeat of the season against the table-topping South Yorkshire side, but beating their city rivals 3-1. 

Everton Dugongs' charge up the table continued as they recorded a walkover victory over Urmston Grammar and also proved too strong for Sheffield 2. 

While the Liverpudlians are 11 points off the top, they do have four games in hand. 

Second-placed Liverpool are still also firmly in the promotion hunt after maximum points wins over Manchester Marvels Marauders and York Vikings, the former of those two defeated sides beating the latter in the other triangular match.

Kent Invicta are in firm control in the title race in Division 3 South East – but they are not home and hosed just yet. 

They clocked up their 10th and 11th victories of the season in their latest triangular on Sunday, beating Guildford International and Essex Estonians, both by 3-1, leaving them a point clear at the top with two games in hand. 

Guildford beat Essex 3-1 in the other game to stay in a mid-table position with a 6-6 record. 

In second place are Dartford Crossers, who notched their own 3-1 double, getting the better of London Wildcats and Tendring, the latter winning the third match in straight sets. 

Third are Onyx, who got the better of Worthing and Urbond Portsmouth, again by 3-1 scorelines, while the Sussex club went to five sets to win the third match. 

It will not take something catastrophic from Oxford Bulls for them not to win the Division 3 South West title after they made it 12 games unbeaten. 

Mathematically they still need two more wins to be certain because of Reading Aces’ games in hand, but they look well set to claim the championship after their latest victories over Bristol 2 and Coventry and Warwick Riga 2, both in straight sets. 

The third match, by contrast, went the full distance before Bristol dug out the victory to stay in third place. 

One place above them in second are Weymouth, who eased to straight sets successes in their triangular with Nuneaton Inferno and City of Bristol, with the latter repeating that scoreline in winning the third match. 

Reading are still in the mix for promotion, even if it is most likely a play-off place they aim for, after two more wins this weekend against Bedminster and Southampton 2. 

Bedminster prevailed in the other match, taking their record to 7-7 after a 3-0 success over Southampton. 

Women's images by Simon Clarke. Men's images by Jon Cornish.

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