U18 Junior Grand Prix review - City, Hawks, Vipers and Wildcats book their Super Series spots

Boys

As the first Grand Prix of the year got underway, MK City A would seal their spot in the next Super Series with wins over third placed Leeds Gorse Purple (25-18, 25-16) and second placed Black Country (25-17, 25-23) in Gold Pool A.

In Gold Pool B, Richmond Hawks would join the Falcons to be promoted to Super Series, with wins over third overall London Lynx (25-10, 25-21), fourth overall South Hants (25-22, 25-14).

Their final match against runners up South Bucks proved pivotal and saw them drop their only set of the competition, but the Hawks kept their eyes on the prize to clinch the decider (25-19, 19-25, 15-10).

It was Sheffield who triumphed in Silver C pool with a 100 per cent record and without dropping a set as they overcame Frodsham (25-19, 25-14), Hermitage (25-15, 25-17) and Nottingham Rockets (25-23, 25-19).

The Rockets finished as runners up, with Hermitage and Frodsham rounding out the standings in that order.

Silver D saw Wessex reign supreme in a similar fashion to Sheffield - making their way to the top without a set blemish against Richmond Jackals (25-12, 25-18) and Sevenoaks School (25-14, 25-18).

Their final match came against Bristol A and neither team gave the other an inch, with both sets extending past the 25-point mark. However, in the end, Wessex kept their composure to see off their Somerset rivals to secure the top spot (26-24, 27-25).

Bronze E pool had Wapping Wildcats taking the honours for the day, but not without a fierce challenge from Dartford Spartans (25-23, 22-25, 16-14) and Lincoln Cannons (25-23, 25-12).

Their biggest threat to promotion came from another Spartans, as Tamworth Spartans pushed them to three before the Londoners eventually prevailed (25-21, 17-25, 15-12).

London Giants topped the standings in Pool F above Worthing Panthers (25-18, 25-15) and Weymouth (25-19, 25-11), before being pushed the distance by Thames Valley to ensure their success was hard earned (25-22, 18-25, 15-13).

In the National Tier 2 pools, Monkseaton headed up Pool G, while Coventry and Warwick Riga led the way in Pool H.

Bromsgrove School and Hills Road Sixth Form also had plenty to write home about, winning Pools I and J respectively.

Team SideOut and London Lynx Odyssey proved to be top of the class in Pools K and L and Portsmouth Phoenix won Pool M to round out the Tier 2 winners.

Girls

Excellent performances from Ashfield Vipers enabled them to secure their Super Series spot by topping the table in Gold Pool A.

An early 2-0 victory over Newcastle Staffs B (25-23, 25-18) set them up for a clash with Willesden Divets and the Vipers cruised past the London team 2-0 (25-19, 25-20), leaving only Black Country standing in their way of their promotion hopes.

And the Vipers kept plenty of venom for their West Midlands opponents as they maintained their record of not dropping a set in winning 2-0 (25-15, 25-21).

In Gold Pool B, Wapping Wildcats were also in top form, buidling on their strong previous showings at U15 and U16 level.

Victories against South Hants (25-13, 25-20) and Ashcombe Dorking (25-21, 25-19) put them on the road to success, leaving Wessex as the final obstacle.

The Wildcats were pushed the distance by a spirited Wessex side, but they remained focused and sealed their promotion with a 2-1 success (25-17, 23-25, 15-11).

Silver C saw Sevenoaks School move up to the Gold Pool and get one step closer to the Super Series - an early nail-biter against MK City A (25-19, 13-25, 15-13) set them up nicely for a close match against AST Barnet where they prevailed 2-0 (25-19, 25-23).

Their final match against Nottingham Rockets saw the school side cruise to victory 2-0 (25-20, 25-9).

London Giants once again took the highest honours in Silver Pool D after they eeked out a victory against Worthing Lions (25-20, 26-24) and Richmond C (25-14, 25-21) before cruising past Bristol, all three matches without dropping a set (25-13, 25-19).

Further north, Bronze Pool E was headed up by Frodsham, where their overcame Coventry and Warwick Riga (25-19, 20-25, 15-8) and Leeds Gorse Purple (25-15, 25-16) ahead of a face-off against Stockport.

That game went to a nail-biting decider before Frodsham, utimately, had the final say (25-10, 16-25, 15-13).

Bronze F had Malory Eagles B as top of the class, with the Eagles flying against Cardiff Celts (25-18, 25-20) and ENVC (25-20, 25-10) and Team SideOut (25-10, 25-23).

In the National Tier 2 pools, Sheffield clinched Pool G and Nuneaton rose to the top of Pool H.

South Bucks had a weekend remember, with the C team winning Pool I and B team securing Pool J.

Pool K saw MGGS as its' best performer, while South Hants B took Pool L and Weymouth sealed Pool M to round out a stellar weekend of junior volleyball.

Volleyball England would like to thank all host clubs for providing the facilities to enable pool matches to be staged.

Click here to view all Junior results and fixtures.