U16 Junior Grand Prix review (9th and 10th March)

Eight teams contested each of the Tier 1 Gold and Silver Cup competitions, with the first matches decided via rankings from performances during the season. 

First played eighth, second played seventh, third played sixth and fourth placed fifth. 

The winners of those matches played in semi-finals ahead of a final, while losing teams continued to play-off for the positions below that. 

In the girls’ Gold Cup at Ashcombe, number one and two ranked sides Tendring College A and AST Academy progressed safely from their first matches with 2-1 wins over South Hants and Willesden Divets respectively. 

But the middle matches saw sixth-ranked Westminster beat third-ranked Ashcombe 2-0 and fifth-ranked Richmond B saw off fourth-ranked Hull Thunder by the same score.  

Tendring met Richmond in the first semi and came through in straight sets, 25-21, 25-20. 

Vying to play them in the final were Westminster and AST Academy, and it was the former who prevailed by a 2-0 margin (25-17, 25-15). 

As the top-ranked side, Tendring went into the final as favourites, but it was Westminster who used the momentum they had built up during the day to triumph 25-16, 25-14. 

The bronze match saw Richmond defeat AST Academy 2-0, while Ashcombe beat South Hants 2-0 in the fifth/sixth place match and Hull Thunder defeated Willesden Divets in straight sets in the seventh/eighth place encounter.

 

The Silver Cup was contested at London Lynx and went largely to form, with the three of the top four-ranked teams making it through to the semi-finals. 

Top-ranked Wessex beat London Lynx, second-ranked Wapping Wildcats defeated Cambridge and third-ranked Richmond C saw off Deep Dish Crystal Palace, all by the same 2-0 scoreline. 

Fourth-ranked Worthing Cheetahs, however, came unstuck against fifth-ranked Cardiff Celts, going down 2-1, with the Welsh side winning 15-11 in the decider. 

In the semi-finals, Wessex had relatively few problems in registering a 2-0 (25-15, 25-19) victory over Cardiff, while Wapping  were taken to the wire before edging out Richmond 2-1 (25-19, 17-25, 15-13).  

Both the gold and bronze matches were won in straight sets, with Wessex triumphing against the Wildcats (25-19, 25-20) and Cardiff proving just too strong for Richmond (25-21, 25.) 

Cambridge got the better of London Lynx 2-0 in the fifth/sixth place match, while Worthing Cheetahs defeated Deep Dish by the same score in the seventh/eighth place game. 

The boys’ Gold Cup was staged at the National Volleyball Centre in Kettering where the top two teams in the ranking came through their first matches, with Newcastle Staffs beating South Hants 25-16, 25-16 and Stockport 25-20, 25-22 winners against Richmond B. 

But third-placed Dulwich were beaten by Black Country, (28-26, 25-16) and fourth-placed Urmston Grammar were beaten in an epic against London Lynx, the latter claiming a 27-29, 19-25, 14-16 success. 

In the semi-finals, Dulwich replaced Black Country, who were unable to stay for the latter stages of the day, and rose to the occasion to defeat Stockport 2-0 (25-22, 25-22) while Newcastle Staffs were given a real game before taking it 21-25, 26-24, 15-12 against London Lynx. 

The final was also a keenly-contested affair and saw Staffs go in front, taking the first set 25-14, only for Dulwich to hit back and clinch the second 25-22, to level it at 1-1. 

A tense decider saw the West Midlanders eventually come out on top by a 15-11 scoreline. 

The bronze match also went the distance before Stockport emerged as 21-25, 25-18, 15-11 victors over London Lynx. 

MK City hosted the Silver Cup, where all but one match across the day was decided in straight sets. 

Top-ranked Ashfield Vipers came through their opening test against Dartford by a 25-15, 25-14 margin, while second-ranked Ashcombe were victorious against Sheffield (25-22, 27-25). 

MK City progressed as a result of Urmston Grammar being unable to attend, while fourth-ranked Leeds Gorse Purple were 25-21, 25-20 victors against Worthing Dragons. 

The semi-finals pitched Ashfield against Leeds, and it was the former who claimed a 25-18, 26-24 triumph. 

In the other semi, MK City did it the hard way, but came through in three sets after losing the first against Ashcombe (16-25, 28-26, 15-10). 

The final was competitive, but Ashfield always had the edge and registered a 25-19, 25-23 success. 

Ashcombe sealed third place by beating Leeds 25-18, 25-20 in the bronze match. 

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In Tier 2, a fourth Grand Prix of the season was staged across four pools for both girls and boys. 

The girls’ winners were MK City (Pool A), Nuneaton (Pool B), Team Medway (Pool C) and Team Sideout (Pool D). 

The four boys’ pools were held at Coventry and Warwick Riga, Preston Panthers, London Lynx and South Hants. 

Tamworth Spartans (Pool A), Wombourne (Pool B), Team Sideout A (Pool C) and Wessex (Pool D) were the respective winners. 

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Check out all the Junior Grand Prix results by clicking here.  

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