Final 4 - The big preview - women's matches

Whether the Italian does indeed hop on his bike to travel in to the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre from his Peckham home on such an auspicious occasion remains to be seen, but, regardless of that, he knows the value of his team being home away from home. 

While readily admitting he is “biased” towards the capital and “London-centric”, he also maintains that bringing the grand finalé of the top-flight season to his backyard will be beneficial on a number of levels. 

“I’m so pleased that we’re going to Crystal Palace,” said Tiberti. “Not only is it so close for me, and us, but I also went to the first Super League Live in November, which was organised by London Giants, and it was a great event. 

“There was a big crowd and I think it was a fantastic atmosphere. Volleyball is one of the most played sports in the world, but unfortunately not here in the UK. But London is such a diverse city that you've got people from all over the world and you've got so many clubs in London supporting the sport. 

“Because of that, I think that London is the right place to have such an event, and I expect a big, big crowd. 

“I know people will certainly be coming to watch and we have at least 50 people coming just for the Saturday, which is just from our club, so it just goes to show what it can be like being in the capital. 

“I think there is the desire here in London to see these big events. We're super-excited and people in the club can't wait to see it – and I think that that applies to a lot of people who will come along. 

“I think regardless of how my team does, it is going to be a fantastic event, especially with three London teams in the women's, and one just outside in Essex.” 

Having come close to the drop last season – only securing their Super League status after winning the final two games of their regular season and then the play-off against NVL Division 1 Stockport – the club has made great strides since last summer, and clinching fourth place in the table with a 12-6 record has been an admirable achievement. 

Now Tiberti hopes his self-confessed “underdogs” can help propel themselves to the ultimate prize of national champions, which would be some feat given the club only joined the NVL set-up in 2018. 

And there is no doubt they have reasons for optimism, having run all their fellow Final 4 teams close during the course of the regular season, as well as sweeping aside some of those teams who have finished towards the bottom of the table. 

A key component of Lionhearts' success has been their ability to blend long-standing club players, who have been on the journey from bottom to top, with new, quality additions. 

Tiberti has huge praise for everyone in his squad, but particularly for two of the league’s best performers, Maria Sviridova and Mallory Porcher, who joined ahead of the new season from Team SideOut Polonia and Cambridge ARU respectively. 

He said: “The dedication to the team, to the project and to each other has really made a difference. 

“We have a strong culture of support, of closeness, and, being a team where our players come from overseas, where there are strong volleyball cultures already, has helped us form the backbone of this team. 

“That desire to be with each other, for training as well as matches, does make a heck of a difference not just to the enjoyment but the results too. 

“Masha (Maria) and Mallory have definitely helped to set the example with that. Masha was the league’s Player of the Season last Year, but wanted to change position, came to our session, liked what she saw and the project and decided to stay with us. 

“We have quite a young team and those younger people, seeing the way she trains, her mentality and the fact that she always tries to do better, is inspirational to them. 

“She tries to give the younger players some direction in terms of what professionalism in sport is like, but also a lot of belief that everything goes and there is no match that we cannot win. 

“Just like Masha, Mallory has also been a big influence on and off the court. She’s the best blocker in the league and she helps with the way we play.

“I think the team reflects the way I used to play as a libero... very strong defensively and fighting for every ball.

“That that style of play was good enough to get us in the top four. But now we need to make a few tweaks and take more risks if we want to beat the top teams, but the support from the crowd will make a difference.” 

Semi-final opponents Malory Eagles represent a tough test for Lionhearts, having recently been beaten 3-0 by them in the recent final throes of the season.

But the Shoreditch-based side are not alone in finding things difficult against the team in black and red – only SideOut Polonia have come out on top against them in a regular season where they have registered a 17-1 record to top the table and reach the National Cup Final. 

Assistant Coach Carol Gordon has seen the squad build momentum throughout the season, with a number of players having been able to stick around over multiple seasons. Another boost in the second half of the season has been the acquisition of England Setter Georgia McGovern, who has returned from overseas to spearhead the attack. 

She now hopes the likes of Chloe Allen, Selena Batiste, Ari Sierra and others who have been with the club’s programme for a while can now get their rewards by being national champions for the first time since 2006-2007 season. 

“For us, finishing top of the table was a target and we wanted to be in that position, but we also know that things can change in the play-offs of the Final 4,” said Gordon. “Having these matches will give you the sense that you can confirm what you thought you knew. 

“We always knew that there was probably going to be a three or four-horse race, with probably two or three for that top spot. 

“This season it has been very interesting. It gives us a bit of confidence having finished top, particularly as, for the first time we've beaten Polonia in the regular season, which hasn't been done before. 

“The first game is the most important game, because it’s one step at a time. You have to break it down and we need to get through Saturday first before we can see it we make it and then decide what we are doing on Sunday if we do. 

“Rather than just thinking about what's gone before and how long it is since we won the overall title, for me it’s all about this group of players. 

“We've been blessed with this group... I'm so delighted for them that they're able to feel as part of this system that they can interchange. And the confidence in that interchangeability is our strength. 

“I would really like them to have something that acknowledges what they've done this season and the grit that they've shown. The hard work that they've put in. 

“I'm not saying they deserve it. I would just really like to see them achieve it. It's there for the taking, but they've got to go hard.” 

For Gordon, Crystal Palace always holds a special place in her heart, not just from her involvement in other Malory matches there, but from other sporting involvement too. 

She will be doing her best to quell any pre-match nerves with her dance moves that are now a familiar feature of major events, such as Opening Weekend, Cup Finals and, of course, Final 4. 

She said: “I have so many memories of the venue to mention as a coach and as a player – I think we had a couple of games here while some of the other Cup finals were up in Sheffield or Loughborough. 

“I’ve also coached teams of my own with the London Youth Games teams, but my very first memory of Crystal Palace was not volleyball, but indoor hockey as a 15-year-old. 

“My school got to the national finals. I played in goal and I got my picture in The Guardian – which I’ve still got on the wall at home – but we lost sadly. 

“It's a great picture from behind the goal because I was a goalkeeper, so I'm in all the gear and I'm in position and it looks like I'm about to make a great save! 

“So I have some really good memories and Crystal Palace is a good venue, and I hope the team will enjoy playing there. 

“The dancing thing started when I used to play. We would arrive at away games, have a little boogie in the car park to some music and then maybe have a little dance before the games. 

“It was just part of our routine because it was not just fun, but also a relaxation thing as well, and we’ve carried that on with this team. 

“(Event DJ) DJ Cadz knows what we like. Plus there is a routine that's been doing the rounds on TikTok, so I've got to try and get the girls to teach me and then we'll see what we've got!” 

For Team SideOut Polonia’s Mark Kontopoulos, striving to be the country’s best has been a long-term passion. 

For 16 years the team's Head Coach has juggled his busy professional and personal life around his commitments to a team and club which continues to be one of the very best. 

This season, Polonia accrued the same points as regular season table toppers Malory Eagles but finished second by virtue of a slightly inferior set quotient. 

Their 15-3 record – in addition to reaching the Cup Final, where they will attempt to defend the trophy they won last year against Durham Palatinates when taking on the Eagles in Kettering later this month – attests to the fact that the desire to excel remains as strong as ever. 

Missing out narrowly to Durham in the league over the past three years is motivation in itself to go one better at Crystal Palace this time around, but Kontopoulos also has a personal reason for wanting to end the MAAREE Women’s Super League season as champions. 

“The whole team is very committed to what we do,” he said. “We finish training at 10pm in the week and people don't get home until about 11.30pm and and some of the players have kids. 

“I'm on the other side of London to where we train, living East and training in the West, yet I’ve been doing it all these years. 

“It's just crazy, really. We're all a certain kind of crazy, I think, but you can put it more eloquently and say we're very dedicated. We love what we do. 

“For me, I would love to win it in front of a crowd, in these circumstances, because the last time we won it was the season that was cut short by Covid-19. 

“There were no play-offs at the time and we went to Durham and Nottingham on what turned out to be the last weekend of the league and we won both games. We knew that if we took six points from that weekend, we were mathematically champions, no matter what came next. 

“We won both games - we beat Durham up there, beat Nottingham up there - and the day after that Monday, the league got shut down, with the country being shut down a week later. 

“There was debate about what would be done and a suggestion to shut down the league and just cancel it and not have divisional title winners. 

“But eventually Volleyball England looked at all the remaining games and split the points, so 1.5 points per team from each remaining match, to decide who the the champions would be. 

“We won the league under that of course, but we had already won it mathematically and the girls felt it was portrayed that we won because of those extra 1.5 points when we'd actually won it anyway. 

“So it would be nice to win it here this weekend where there are absolutely no doubts – and that’s definitely the aim.” 

While remaining absolutely central to Sideout’s operation, Kontopoulos says he has been indebted to the assistance he has been able to call on during this 2024-25 season. 

Both Assistant Coaches Krys Kovalsky and Sam Sorsky have added greatly to the mix in an era where Polonia are competing against university sides with greater resources and more time to devote to training and preparation. 

Kontopoulos added: “I think it's been fantastic to have the pair of them. To going from having no assistance, at least in training – I've had (statistician) Hai-Binh Ly on my side for matches since 2012 – to having that extra help has made a big difference.  

“They have been able to sort of share some of the workload in terms of planning and preparation, but we’ve also picked each other's brains a lot, questioned each other and held each other accountable. 

“They have brought different perspectives and different strengths. Krys has been involved in the England set-up and brings several years of coaching experience with him. 

“Sam, on the other hand, is a younger guy, but super-enthusiastic, super-keen, and a real student of the game. He's brought a lot of value in terms of the mental side of the game and been the good cop sometimes, building a stronger connection between the coaching staff and the players. 

“It’s also good to get that real time input on the bench for matches as well, as well as the late night Zoom calls for brainstorming, figuring out plans and tactics and things like that.” 

For opponents Essex Rebels, the second half of the season has seen the team really come into its own, winning nine of their final 10 league matches. 

Those successes included a 3-2 success over SideOut, where the Rebels underlined their intent to go all the way at Final 4 with an assured display, leading to a highest league finish under the current name of third spot. 

Much has been made – rightly – of the impact of the North American contingent, including the likes of Chelsea Simmons, Julia Haynie and Kathea Scahmblin, who have been big influences on and off the court. 

But Head Coach Alex Chinery is just as pleased with the way his Brit Pack have risen to the challenge, both in the Super League and the BUCS competition, which the team secured last month. 

He is a firm believer that a mixture of both imported talent and homegrown prospects is the way to go and hopes those from these shores who have been with the programme for a while can get their rewards this weekend with Final 4 glory. 

“We're in a little bit of a different situation to the guys in that you need more overseas athletes in the Women's Super League to compete because there are so many more teams that have the majority of their squad from overseas,” said Chinery. 

“But I've been very selective over who I've recruited in the last few years from an English perspective. When we recruit athletes to come to our programme, they have to be able to compete. 

“They have to be able to survive on our programme, and it's not an easy thing to do, but there are enough English athletes out there that if you give them a chance, they will play well and do a good job. 

“We have a first year Lilla Whittaker who has changed position. She was in the team of the tournament at NEVZA in October as a Middle and now plays Outside for us. 

“She got into the game against Malory and lit up the third and fourth set and she's going to play a big part next year and the year after, when she completes her degree. 

“Tara King has played a little bit for us this year as well as has stepped into games. She played against Nottingham in the last game of the season, had a strong hit efficiency and led our team in kills. 

“Then there’s Catherine Tolley and Saskia Freitas Schoeffel who are both national team starting athletes that are graduating this year. They have given a huge amount of their life to this programme and have been an integral part of our success, plus Emily Priestley, is one of the best, if not the best defensive specialists in the league coming off the bench. 

“So for us, it's about developing those players. English players can then go on and play somewhere else after they graduate from us, and that development is important to us.” 

For Chinery, winning Final 4 would represent the biggest success to date, having started his journey because of a year-long injury that prevented him from playing. 

The man who is also active with the England national pathway insists, however, that it would be all about his happiness for the players, were they to come out on top in South London. 

He said: “I’ve been coaching about 15 years now. I got pretty badly injured and I wanted to stay involved in the game so I started coaching young juniors at my club. 

That morphed through and I decided to end my National League playing career and start coaching at Division 2 level with Team Essex before slowly working my way up. 

“I had a few options when coming out of the the Covid-19 Pandemic, but I had been involved with the regional programme with East and Alex Porter was involved with that as well. 

“He offered me the chance to come and learn from him with the programme at Essex and then I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to come on full-time when we created the Rebels. 

I think that was a huge vote of confidence in me, but a phenomenal opportunity as well, as there's only three university full-time Head Coaches. 

“I think a lot of the reason that we've done so well is that we have the two of us there working together, actively searching to get better as coaches. 

“For us to send off this group with a gold medal in the Super League would be amazing. I don't think anyone at Christmas would have thought it possible that we could win the Final 4, apart from me and a few of the athletes. 

“For us, proving we could do it against Polonia was huge, and if we do win, the likelihood is that we face Malory Eagles in the final, so we know that it’s going to be a huge challenge. 

“To win would be pretty special for all the girls. For me personally, I think this is all a journey and I love being on the journey, I love being on the ride and ride. 

“There's four really good teams. It's just about us coming out and playing well, trying to execute to good game plans and, from there, seeing what happens.” 

Images by Nathaniel Macrae photography and Xu Da.

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