Super League round 13 preview: Ketley relishing first taste of Super League at UON

One recent example to come off that particular production line is University of Nottingham setter Abi Ketley, who has stepped up to play for the top-flight club this season – and grasped the opportunity with both hands. 

The 19-year-old came to the East Midlands last summer having learned the fundamentals of the sport at The Boswells School under the watchful eye of respected England Junior coach Darren Lewis. 

Since then, as the 2023-24 campaign has unfolded, the first-year Sociology student has really come to the fore for her new club, playing in every Super League game of the season so far, along with midweek university BUCS matches.

In terms of the statistics, Abi has assisted on 365 points from 1,173 attempts, as well as completing 63 digs, making 16 blocks and four kills and serving nine aces. 

But beyond those impressive figures, the Green and Golds’ number eight has also grown in confidence and become a key cog in the team’s machine, helping them to fifth place in the MAAREE Super League table with a 6-6 record. 

That overall performance has already outstripped last season – when the team struggled to a 5-13 record and finishing in ninth place – with Abi playing a significant part in that upturn in fortunes. 

“I have really enjoyed playing Super League this year, starting with the Opening Weekend in Kettering, which was such a good atmosphere and a really great start being my first year playing at this level,” she said. 

“When you come into the league you notice how much faster it is than when you played at Junior level and so I’ve had to learn how to set the game faster. 

“The points are also that much more competitive and there aren’t as many easy wins... you really have to work for it. 

“Coming into a new team, I also need to learn how to connect with the new players and what their thought processes were. My confidence has definitely grown over the season as I have got used to the speed of it and how we are looking to play. 

“Freddie Fairburn is such a good coach and has helped me build on what I learned under Darren, to whom I also owe so much. They have both been amazing coaches and I’m lucky to have had both of them help me. 

“The Final 4 competition had definitely added something extra this season and keeps the season alive for longer, even if we aren’t the favourites to go through to that this year. 

“I think we are really starting to grow as a team now and hopefully we can push on in the last few weeks of the season and have a really strong finish.” 

Volleyball runs in the family of the Ketleys, so it was little surprise when Abi followed her three older brothers into the sport. 

Eldest brother Tom competed in US College Volleyball for Springfield College, middle brother Matt turned out for Sheffield Hallam and youngest brother Adam played for both Sheffield Hallam and the University of Sheffield. 

Abi said: “I did gymnastics when I was quite young and also played netball as well, but I was always interested in playing Volleyball having watched my brothers. 

“All my brothers were setters and so I was always going to be a setter too. I have had a lot of one-on-one sessions with Darren around setting skills, wich has really helped me. 

“It’s also helped following my brothers because they have always been there for me to give me feedback on where they can improve or if I need to go to them for some advice or support. 

“It used to be that it was me always going along to watch their games, but now they have started to come along a lot more to watch mine, so the tables have turned!” 

Now classed a Senior, Abi says she enjoyed the experience of coming through the England Junior Talent Pathway, with her first involvement coming at the age of 14. 

She subsequently featured in the NEVZA Tournaments as an U17 in Denmark in 2019 and as an U19 in Finland in 2021, valuing those trips for her experiences both on and off the court. 

“Playing for England was a really exciting thing to be a part of and it gave me the opportunity to play against different styles of Volleyball when playing teams from the different countries,” said Abi. 

“But it wasn’t just the playing, it was getting to go to other place and see them and also the friends you make in the team... I’ve got friends for life from it. 

“Having experienced playing abroad, that is something I would like to do again for a club side one day, depending on how things go and if I keep developing, but for now the focus for the next two seasons is on Nottingham and performing well for them.” 

Last time out, UON recorded arguably their most impressive victory of their season so far when they edged out a Polonia team who had lost only one other league game all season – and that was to unbeaten league leaders Durham Palatinates. 

It seemed that the visiting hosts were on track for a comfortable victory after they took the first two sets 25-20, 25-18, but Nottingham are made of sterner stuff this season and rallied to take the next two 25-19, 26-24 before holding their collective nerve to clinch the tie-breaker 15-13. 

Abi feels it underlines not only how far they have come as a squad over the last few months, but also the potential to excel further in the future. 

She said: “The Polonia game was, I feel, the best we have played as a team since I have been here, with the way we worked together as a team to get ourselves back in the game and then dig out the result. 

“Even though we lost the first two sets, nobody doubted that we had it within us to come back. Our service got better as the match went on and we started to have a few runs of points that got our confidence up. 

We had lost out previous two games since Christmas 3-0 to two strong sides in Durham and Essex, so we were a bit down and we really needed this result to give our confidence a lift.”

 This week is another big game in the calendar of the University of Nottingham as they make the short trip down the A52 to renew their cross-county border rivalry with Darkstar Derbyshire. 

The previous Super League meeting between the two sides this season, in Nottingham in early December, saw the hosts run out 25-13, 25-18, 14-25, 29-27 victors, but not being pushed all the way by their opponents. 

With BUCS games between UON and the University of Derby, which involves many of the same players, Abi has come to appreciate just how much of a rivalry there is. 

“The last time we played it was really tense and I know it means a lot to both teams because of the rivalry – the same as when we played Uni of Derby in BUCs,” she said. 

“We managed to win on that occasion, but it was a very hard-fought game and we had to battle for everything to get over the line. 

“They especially came back hard at us in the final couple of sets, so we know that they are a strong side and we will have to play well again if we want to follow up the Polonia result in the way we are hoping to.” 

Main pic by @_.elizabethphotography

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