U18 Super Series round 3 review (6th December) - Storm boys record first overall victory as Boswells girls continue domination

Saturday's third installment of Volleyball England's premier junior competition was split between the Sir David Wallace Building and New Victory Hall at Loughborough University. 

In the boys' section, winners of the previous two rounds, Leeds Gorse, suffered a surprising opening game defeat as they lost to seventh-ranked, Urmston Grammar.

The North West side were returning to the top level having been relegated to the Gold Pools for the previous round and showed they were ready to make up for lost time, sealing a narrow 25-21, 20-25, 17-15 victory.

Second-ranked Richmond Falcons, playing eighth-ranked London Lynx Selby, had a comfortable 2-0 win to ease them into the competition, coming out on top 25-17, 25-17. 

Deep Dish Crystal Palace finished third last around and faced The Boswells School for their first match and after being made to work hard in the first set, 25-23,  were more comfortable in winning the second 25-18. 

The final match of first round matches was between fourth-ranked Exeter Storm and fifth-ranked, Newcastle Staffs A, and, in a close match, the Devonians just held the edge to triumph 25-20, 25-21.

In the two matches featuring the winning teams from the first game, Urmstom Grammar A faced Exeter Storm in a thrilling match, where both teams fought hard until the end. 

In the end, though, it was Exeter who remained calm to seal the decider by just two points after the sides had exchanged the first two sets (25-23, 22-25, 15-13), granting them a place in the gold medal match. 

Deep Dish Crystal Palace and Richmond Falcons experienced a similarly competitive encounter, with the teams sharing the first two sets before the Londoners sneaked through (25-18, 25-27, 15-11). 

The gold medal match could not have been closer, as both sides vied for their first Super Series of the season, and in Storm's case, ever. 

After the West Country side won the first set 27-25, set two saw Richmond Falcons fighting harder than ever to win gold but in a seemingly never-ending battle, it was Exeter who edged it 31-29 to be crowned winners. 

The bronze medal match saw Urmston Grammar A have a challenging yet comfortable success, defeating Deep Dish Crystal Palace 2-0 (25-19, 25-22). 

Fifth and sixth position was between Leeds Gorse Orange and The Boswells School, and, after surrendering their series winners title the West Yorkshire side also lost another close 2-0 match (25-23, 25-23). 

Lastly, relegated teams Newcastle Staffs A and London Lynx fought for seventh and eighth position, with the West Midlands side securing a comfortable 2-0 win to end off the day at New Victory Hall (25-9, 25-20). 

Whilst the boys' section saw some surprising results in comparison to the original rankings, the girls' section proved to be altogether more predictable, with the top four rankings remaining the same. 

Last round winners, The Boswells School, faced seventh-ranked, Black Country, in their first match, triumphing 25-19, 25-17. 

Unlike the boys, second-ranked, Leeds Gorse, won their opener against sixth-ranked Urmston Grammar A by a 2-0 margin, with the first set a hard-earned 26-24, before a more comfortable win in set two (25-18) after finding greater rhythm.

Richmond A, ranked third, faced fifth-ranked South Bucks A in the first match of the day, winning 25-20, 25-17 and Malory Eagles took on Richmond C for the last match of round one, coming out on top 2-0 (25-21, 25-19). 

The winners' games in the second round of matches saw The Boswells School take on Malory Eagles in a battle for a spot in the final, with Essex side notching a comfortable 2-0 success (25-15, 25-12). 

The second winners' game was between Richmond A and Leeds Gorse which resulted in a very close battle. 

Richmond A sneaked the first set 26-24 before Leeds Gorse showed their determination and bounced back to take the next two sets 25-20, 15-8. 

The gold medal match was one to watch, providing a nail-biting finale to the day. 

Leeds Gorse took the first set 25-20, giving them hope of ending the series-winning run, but the 2024-25 national champions knew what they had to do and came back to clinch the next two sets and the match, 25-23, 24-22. 

Third and fourth place saw Richmond A defeat Malory Eagles to secure a podium position and remain third ranked (25-11, 25-10).

Fifth and sixth positions saw Richmond C and Urmston Grammar A go head to head, with the former coming through to triumph 2-1 (21-25, 28-26, 15-12). 

Lastly, seventh and eighth position was contested by Black Country and South Bucks A, with the South Coast side finding some solace after the disappointment of being relegated in recording a 2-0 victory (25-19, 25-10).

Images by Simon Clarke and Jon Cornish