Super League review round 17 (8th and 9th March) - Knights and Giants in men's Final 4 as Polonia and Stockport go down

The North East Club went into the match knowing that a point would be good enough to book their place in the end-of-season showdown at Crystal Palace and they duly did that by going two sets up. 

However, the hosts showed all their fighting spirit to complete a remarkable reverse sweep to secure a fifth win of the season (22-25, 19-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-20). 

Ignas Motuzis took was named MVP for the victors as Neal Rea was selected for Newcastle. 

Even so, it was not enough to save them from the drop due to victory for the side just above them, Richmond Docklands. 

They earned a huge 3-1 win over the University of Nottingham to confirm the East Midlanders have missed out on a final four spot. 

Richmond laid down a marker in the first set and though they lost a pulsating, high-scoring second, they knuckled down to take the crucial third set and then close out the match (25-18, 28-30, 25-18, 25-21). 

Samuel Dobrancin was Richmond’s MVP after Rob Morgan took the accolade for the visitors in successfully completing all 22 attempts to return serve and making 12 kills and two blocks.  

As a result, the Londoners have now moved on to 19 points and, while they are not yet safe from automatic relegation, they are now strong favourites to secure the potential lifeline of a play-off spot for finishing seventh. 

Polonia, though, can now only earn a maximum of 18 points, meaning they are now unable to finish any better than third from bottom and NVL Division 1 volleyball will be their fate next season, having reached the Final 4 gold medal match less than 12 months ago. 

Saturday’s results also meant London Giants, who have enjoyed a second-half-of-the season surge, made the Final 4 even before they played their last match of the regular season on Sunday against the Knights, where they celebrated with a straight sets success (25-13, 25-23, 25-21). 

They now lead their beaten opponents by three points and sit in third place after finishing their regular season and, with a superior set quotient, it is likely to stay that way, even if Newcastle win their one remaining game. 

Stockport had given themselves an outside chance of staving off relegation on Saturday by winning a five-set thriller at fellow strugglers Essex Blaze. 

The Greater Manchester side twice came back from a set down to win a tense decider by just two points and secure a fourth victory of the campaign (21-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 17-15. 

Matt Birch was MVP for the victors as he served three aces, made seven kills, one block and two digs. 

Successfully completing all four attempts to return serve, and making six kills and three digs saw Nathan French selected for the beaten hosts. 

But Stockport needed to keep their winning streak going on Sunday when facing league leaders Essex Rebels in order to preserve their Super League status, but couldn’t quite manage it, despite a brave fight. 

Their 3-1 defeat (25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19) means they will be back in NVL Division 1 next season, having won promotion at the end of the 2022-23 season. 

The other game saw Malory Eagles’ hopes of clinching top spot at the end of the regular season severely dented as they picked up just a point from their five-set defeat against UON (21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 14-25, 15-11). 

The visitors put in an excellent performance to record a morale-boosting win that takes them back above the Durham Palatinates into fifth, courtesy of a superior set quotient.  

The match saw an usual incident late in the second set where the game was halted due to damage to the floor, meaning the nets had to be moved to another court before play could continue. 

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The MAAREE Women’s Super League also saw its share of drama, where the weekend’s results mean the race to avoid automatic relegation will go right down to the wire. 

Durham Palatinates did everything in their power on Saturday by coming back from a set down to defeat Leeds Gorse 3-1 (17-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-13). 

Libero Caroline Belmontez took the MVP award for the home side after completing 16 digs. 

Setter Molly Van Essen was Leeds’ pick with 25 assists from 95 attempts as well as one block and five digs. 

Durham’s victory, together with Darkstar Derbyshire’s defeat at Malory Eagles on Sunday (25-9, 25-20, 25-18), means those in purple could yet clinch sixth place andm with it, safety.

With Durham having now completed their regular season, Darkstar have to earn maximum points against East Midlands neighbours the University of Nottingham, already relegated from Super League, or they will face a play-off match against NVL Division 1’s runners-up. 

If they do achieve that goal, it will come down to set quotient, with the two teams level on points, meaning every point counts. 

In the Malory-Darkstar match, libero Ari Sierra was awarded the MVP for her side, while Hajar El Alouani was selected for Darkstar. 

It was a pleasing weekend for the Eagles, who also beat fellow Final 4 qualifiers Lionhearts Vinarius in straight sets on Saturday (25-15, 25-16, 25-23). 

England setter Georgia McGovern was the Eagles MVP as she served one ace, made two kills, two blocks and 11 digs as well as collecting 32 assists from 76 attempts. Maeve Davitt was MVP for the visitors. 

It means Malory are now likely to finish top of the regular season table after closest rivals Team SideOut Polonia lost their third game of the season in a five-set thriller at third-placed Essex Rebels. 

Mark Kontopoulos’ side twice led, but the hosts hung in there to square the match on each occasion and then edge the deciding tie break by just two points (21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-10, 17-15). 

Setter Chelsea Simmons claimed the MVP vote for the Rebels after serving four aces and completing three kills, six blocks and eight digs, not to mention notching up 41 assists from 118 attempts. 

Lea Borovec, Kathea Schamblin and Alexis Diaz-Infante all chipped in with double figures in terms of kills. 

For Team SideOut, who used no less than 16 players during the match, Yulia Tokarenko was picked out as MVP with once ace, 29 out of 31 successful attempts to return serve, 18 kills and 10 digs. 

With the Eagles currently leading by three points, even if Polonia prevail in their final game of the season – which would see the two teams level on points - they are unlikely to be able to overhaul the superior set quotient of their rivals. 

Alex Chinery’s Essex followed up on Sunday with a far more straightforward success against already-relegated Wessex. 

They took the opportunity to give some bench players valuable game time, but still eased to a 25-9, 25-21, 25-17 triumph to seal third spot ahead of their final game next week. 

Grace Igbokwe was named MVP for Essex, while Jenny Manarang was put forward for Wessex. 

The weekend’s other match on Saturday saw Cambridge ARU end their long barren streak with a straight sets home win over fellow strugglers UoN (25-19, 25-18, 25-18). 

Katarina Knezevic was nominated as MVP for Cambridge after serving three aces, successfully returning serve on 13 out of 18 occasions and completing eight kills, two assists and 13 digs. Patrica Lai got the MVP nod for the Green and Golds. 

While mathematically not yet down, it is likely to be too little, too late due to their inferior set quotient compared to that of their rivals and also a very tough last game against Team Sideout. 

Images by Jack Gurnell (@jgPho.tography4), Noelia Ferenandez Perez and London Giants

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