Double tops for JBT volleyers
JBT I and JBT Juniors both won last Friday to claim the Intersport mixed volleyball league division one and division two titles respectively.
Division One
Sandwick I 0, JBT I 3
(13-25, 19-25, 26-28)
The match in started evenly, with a great spike from Kevin Jones bringing it level at 3-3. More hard hits from Jones and Mark Loynd helped JBT I pull ahead despite some good serving from Sverre Riise. At 7-15 Sandwick called a timeout but they never really found their form in the set and JBT went to win 13-25.
Set two started with some good rallies and JBT crept ahead through the hand of Loynd. Sandwick retaliated and drew level at 6-6, with Nicola Sinclair serving strongly. Play continued point for point until JBT called a time-out at 11-10 down.
JBT returned to court more focused and won the next seven points. Strong serving from Jill Hibbert helped them maintain their lead. Another run of serves from Sinclair took Sandwick back to within four points but that was as close as they got as JBT finished the set off 25-19.
JBT took an early lead in set three with good serving from Naomi Johnson. Peterson continued to hit well but JBT kept picking it up and as Jones found gaps in the Sandwick court, JBT pulled further ahead.
With Peterson serving strongly, Sandwick fought back and levelled the score 6-6. From this point the quality of volleyball was fantastic, as both teams showed great commitment diving to keep the ball in play. With Riise serving Sandwick finally got their noses in front at 21-19 but JBT refused to give in as they won another action packed rally and charged ahead at 21-24.
Spectators could have been forgiven for thinking it was all over, but Sandwick had other ideas. This meant a nail-biting finish as both teams missed out on set points before JBT I finally finished it off to win the match, meaning they were crowned Intersport mixed league champions for 2008.
MVPs were Eric Peterson and Nicola Sinclair for Sandwick I, Mark Loynd and Naomi Johnson took the honours for JBT I.
JBT II 0, LadyBoy Express 3
(16-25, 18-25, 17-25)
LadyBoys served to start and with a clever Mike Bradley push shot gained the first point. Denise Morrison continued serving well and LadyBoys surged ahead to 5-0 before JBT broke the run of play momentarily.
JBT failed to make an impact but due to some confusion in LadyBoys ranks gained some ground narrowing the gap to 7-5. Thanks to some good hitting from Davie Leslie, LadyBoys forged ahead to 13-6. JBT regained composure at this point and brought the game to 14-10, forcing LadyBoys into a tactical time-out. The run
of play continued with LadyBoys having the upper hand and the set finished 25-16.
JBT switched Vicky Henderson for Kirsti Leask in set two. However, LadyBoys stole the serve and continued strongly, taking the game to 11-5. Strong serving from Grant Polson followed by good hits from Ben Laurenson saw JBT edge back and narrow LadyBoys’ lead to 18-16. But LadyBoys showed their experience and closed the set out at 25-18.
JBT started set three with a strong hit from Laurenson, giving them the lead for the first time in the game. This lead was short-lived though and LadyBoys continued well with the appearance of Kenneth Shearer in the side. JBT hung in and levelled the game at 5-5. Play went back and forth to 12-12 before LadyBoys once again found their stride and eventually took the set.
MVPs were Grant Polson and Melissa Calderwood for JBT II and Kenneth Shearer and Anne Wood for LadyBoy Express.
Division Two
JBT Juniors 3, Burra 1
(25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22)
JBT Juniors started lively but it was obvious from the start that they were going to have to compete against the six foot five inch frame of Garry Teale. He seemed to be a magnet to the ball and had a huge influence on the game.
The young boys of JBT didn’t seem to recognise this in the earlier part of the set one and two, allowing Burra to take early advantage. But they grouped together and created effective attacks that Burra couldn’t respond to win the first two sets 25-20 and 25-22.
The young boys became a bit complacent in the third set and allowed Burra to dominate with again an early lead that this time they would maintain to win the set 25-22.
The testosterone-pumped youngsters of JBT knew it would only take one more set to clinch the title and delivered the goods to win the Intersport league division two.
MVPs were Garry Teale and Joyce Adamson for Burra and Lewis Anderson and James Aiken for JBT.
Harry’s Hotspurs 1, DITT Globetrotters 3
(15-25, 17-25, 25-20, 17-25)
The first points went to DITT but the run was stopped by a powerful middle hit by Shane Jamieson, which rebounded off the “shovels” of Karl Sinclair’s block into the roof of the Sandwick games hall. Dawn Manson’s accurate serving evened the score at 5-5 in a period when neither team looked like taking the advantage.
Middle attacks from Sinclair then combined with fast serves from Juergen Kurtz took DITT into a 19-13 lead and they finished the set at 25-15.
The second set opened with a series of serves from Sinclair, which assisted in taking DITT to an 8-1 lead. Andrew Crossan rallied back with his own serving run which brought Hotspurs back into contention at 14-9. Both sides were finding it difficult to gel during the middle of the set, which was typified by broken play and unforced errors. Shane Jamieson enthusiastically lunged himself across court to recover some stray shots but this was not enough to prevent DITT edging to a 25-17 set win.
Even play at the beginning of the third set was enlivened by a tremendous block by Mouat to prevent Jamieson’s fast middle attack from hitting the floor. This was followed by an ace served by Valeska Voelschow which raised the confidence of the DITT team.
Once again a determined Hotspurs rallied back, a fast middle attack by Crossan taking the score to 7-7. Unforced errors by DITT and increased consistency by Spurs enabled them to gain a five-point lead, which they maintained to take the third set 25-20.
With a two-set deficit to regain Harry’s seemed the more determined team at the beginning of the fourth set and played themselves into a 10-3 lead. With some simple accurate shots DITT manoeuvred back into contention at 13-11. Both teams were now fighting for the match.
An attack by Shane Jamieson took Harry’s to a 16-14 lead. DITT replied with strong serving by Voelschow and a trio of middle attacks by Mouat to take the lead at 19-16. Spurs took a crucial time out to regroup, but with the end in sight DITT kept up the pressure to finish the set.
MVPs for Harry’s Hotspurs were Andrew Crossan and Dawn Manson with Juergen Kurtz and Valeska Voelschow given the honours for DITT.
The season will get under way after the winter break, with the first matches in the men’s and women’s League on Friday, 9th January.
