U18 Super Series round 1 review (4th and 5th October) - strong starts for reigning champions

The matches between the leading eight teams in the country in both the girls’ and boys’ sections were the first junior events to be played at Volleyball England’s new indoor home following the move from the National Volleyball Centre in Kettering. 

But it made little difference to The Boswells School (girls) and Leeds Gorse (boys), who adapted quickly to their new surroundings to carry on where they had left off at Cup Finals in April. 

The girls’ section was contested in the National Volleyball Centre and saw top-ranked Boswells drawn against sixth-ranked Taunton in their opening match. 

Darren Lewis’ side were into their stride from the get-go and eased to a comfortable 25-14, 25-14 success. 

Leeds Gorse, ranked second coming into the event, were missing some of their key performers, but nevertheless had few problems in their first match against eight-ranked Wessex A, clinching a 25-13, 25-20 victory. 

Richmond A, ranked third, began positively, as they notched a 25-18, 25-16 triumph over Urmston Grammar A, ranked seventh, that saw them hold the edge in the key moments. 

And the matches continued to run to past form as fourth-ranked Malory Eagles were dominant against a new-look Nottingham Rockets side, ranked fifth, running out 25-4, 25-5 victors. 

With the winners of each of those openers going through to play each other, and the losers also matching up, the second round of matches were more closely contested. 

Boswells were pushed all the way in what proved to be their closest match of the day against Malory. 

After taking the first set 25-19, the Essex side were pegged back 25-16 in the second, but then held their nerve to edge the tie break set 15-13.

 Leeds Gorse powered into a 12-3 lead in their match with Richmond and, though the Londoners clawed some points back as the set went on, it still went 25-17 to the Yorkshire club. 

The second set was much closer and eventually saw Elaine Brown’s charges take it 30-28. 

The matches between the teams who lost their first games were more clear cut, with Urmston taking charge against Taunton (25-18, 25-16) and Wessex proving too strong for Nottingham Rockets (25-12, 25-14). 

The gold match to decide first place was a re-match of last season’s Cup Final – and this encounter produced the same result. 

Although Leeds threatened a comeback after levelling the match following Boswells securing of the opening set, it was those in red who took charge in the tie break to take the match 25-21, 19-25, 15-8 and spark the celebrations. 

The bronze fixture was the closest girls’ game of the weekend and a titanic battle saw Richmond come back from a set down to defeat capital rivals Malory 21-25, 25-22, 15-13. 

Having done enough to avoid the drop to the gold pool, the pressure was off Taunton and Urmston Grammar, and it was the latter who notched a second win on the bounce to clinch fifth place with a 25-18, 25-16 win. 

Although relegated along with Nottingham Rockets, Wessex had the satisfaction of ending on a high by beating their East Midlands rivals 25-12, 25-14. 

The boys’ section, meanwhile, was staged in the Sir David Wallace Sports Hall and paired last year’s winners, Leeds, with Willesden Knights, ranked sixth, first up, and the side in orange ran out comfortable 25-15, 25-21 victors. 

Last year’s losing finalists Urmston Grammar A, ranked second, took on fifth-ranked The Boswells School in their first encounter in a match that ebbed and flowed. 

The Eastern region side edged a crucial first set 27-25 and though the North Westerners came back to take the second 25-18, Boswells ran out 15-10 victors in the tie break. 

There was an early setback for third-ranked Richmond Falcons, who lost their opener by the slimmest of margins against AST Academy, ranked seventh, as the latter claimed an impressive 26-24, 26-24 success. 

Although winning by 2-0 in sets, fourth-ranked Newcastle Staffs’ game with eighth-ranked Future Stars – formerly IBB Polonia – could not have been much tighter, winning 25-23, 32-30 in a test of endurance as well as skill. 

As the second group of matches got underway, Gorse faced what proved to be their toughest match against Newcastle Staffs. 

The sides traded sets by 25-23 margins before the Yorkshireman stretched away in the tie break to seal it 15-11. 

The other winners’ match saw The Boswells School also taken to three by AST Academy before prevailing 26-25, 14-25, 15-10. 

Richmond bounced back from their first game defeat to edge out Urmston Grammar 25-20, 25-22 and consign them to relegation to the Gold Pool, as did Future Stars, with a 25-23, 25-16 victory over Willesden. 

All four of the final set of matches were won in straight sets, including the gold match, where Leeds had the edge over Boswells to triumph 25-21, 25-21. 

Staffs secured overall third place with victory in the bronze match, but they were made to work hard for it before edging out AST Academy 25-23, 31-29. 

Fifth and sixth place saw two London teams go head to head and it was Richmond who came out on top, seeing off Future Stars by a 25-11, 25-18 margin. 

The match between the two teams already down saw Urmston finish on a high and give themselves encouragement that they will soon be back in the top flight, defeating the Knights 25-16, 25-21. 

A full set of Super Series images will be released later this week... keep an eye on Volleyball England socials for details. 

Images by Jon Cornish 

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