5 Dec 2023
U18 Junior Grand Prix round-up (2nd and 3rd Dec)
Teams were sorted into either gold, silver or bronze pools depending on the performances they had put in during the preliminary round earlier in the season.
Gold Pool A saw Leeds Gorse Orange finish top with three straight sets wins after a crucial 25-18, 25-17 over second-placed Boswells School.
Host club AST Academy edged out London Lynx Selby as the two teams finished third and fourth respectively.
Coventry and Warwick Riga staged Gold Pool B which was won comprehensively by IBB Polonia Pro Volley, who never dropped more than 16 points in a set.
Liverpool finished as runners-up after beating the other two sides, Willesden Titans and Ashfield Vipers, who finished third and fourth respectively.
A London side also headed up Gold Pool C as Richmond A won all three of their matches on home territory.
Exeter Storm finished second, while Black Country and Willesden Warriors completed the order of the group.
At the National Volleyball Centre, Newcastle Staffs A were leaders of the pack after winning their crunch match with Urmston Grammar 2-1.
The Greater Manchester School finished in second spot, followed by Richmond B and South Hants.
Another pool contested in Coventry was Silver Pool E where Cherwell pipped the hosts Coventry and Riga to first place.
Nottingham Rockets beat London Giants 15-13 in a final set decider to finish third.
Silver Pool F was won by hosts club Wessex, with Dartford, Worthing and Bristol completing the table in that order.
A tight Silver Group G saw both table toppers Sheffield and runners-up Monkseaton win two matches and lose one, but the former edged ahead on sets difference.
Frodsham and Urmston Grammar B both won one and lost two and were placed third and fourth on a similar basis.
Invicta hosted Bronze Pool H, where Dulwich came out on top with three wins from three.
But it was much closer for second, third and fourth place as Wapping Wildcats, Invicta and London Lynx each claimed one victory and lost their other two matches, eventually being separated on sets difference.
Taunton dominated Bronze Pool I, played at Ashcombe, with a 100 per cent record, while the hosts were second, Plymouth Mayflower third and Urbond fourth.
A second pool played at the NVC in Kettering was Bronze Pool J and it saw MK City come out on top, with only second placed VBDC able to take a set off them.
Hermitage took third spot with Rugby Phoenix finishing fourth.
The final boys pool, Bronze Pool K, was played at Newcastle Staffs and saw Stockport emerge as winners.
Wombourne, Newcastle Staffs B and Manchester Marvels fought out the places below that with the former having the edge, having taken Stockport to three sets.
In the girls’ section, Pool A saw hosts Richmond A victorious as they dropped only 74 points across their three matches.
Leeds Gorse Orange triumphed in their other two matches to finish ahead of Wessex and Worthing Lions, who were third and fourth.
At Ashcombe, Gold Pool B was led by Boswells School with South Bucks second, Ashcombe third and Malory Eagles fourth.
Urmston Grammar A were on point in Gold Pool C to edge out hosts Black Country, notching up three consecutive straight sets wins.
Urmston Grammar B triumphed over Richmond B as those two teams occupied third and fourth spots respectively.
Boswells School B used home advantage to good effect in Silver Pool D, clinching a 2-1 win over second placed Weymouth Ripples in the key game, with Wapping Wildcats and Team Sideout completing the placings.
Nottingham Rockets had lift off at Coventry and Warwick Riga, where they topped Silver Pool E with three victories from three.
Westminster beat the Manchester Marvels to finish second, with Willesden Divets the other team in action.
Another pool win for Taunton came in Bronze Pool F where they did not drop a set in defeating London Lynx, AST Academy and Dartford, who competed for the minor placings.
There were only three teams in Bronze Pool G at Coventry and Warwick Riga where Newcastle Staffs A proved to be the strongest, ahead of the hosts and Black Country B.
Pool H, again made up of three teams, saw West Riding Neko lead the way ahead of Ashfield Vipers and Leeds Gorse Purple.
The weekend also saw a host of Tier 2 fixtures completed in what was their second Grand Prix of the season.
Eight boys’ pools were contested which were won by Harvey Grammar, Yeovil, Tendring Tech College A, Newbury, Weymouth Tsunami, Liverpool, Leicester PVC and Hills Road Sixth Form.
There were six pools played in the girls’ competition, with South Hants, South Bucks, Sheffield, Monkseaton A, MK City and Hills Road Sixth Form emerging as winners.
Find out more on the Junior Competitions home page by clicking here or by emailing r.williams@volleyballengland.org.
Keep up-to-date with all the action across our social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
