Good week for JBT as both teams win
JBT I defeated Sandwick II by three straight sets in last Friday’s first division volleyball match, although two of the sets were extremely close and could have gone either way. It was a good night for JBT as in the second division clash JBT Juniors beat Burra 3-1.
Division One
JBT I 3, Sandwick II 0
(25-21, 28-26, 25-12)
Good serving from the home side, egged on by their cheerleaders and some mistakes from JBT, allowed Sandwick to build up an early lead. However, good play from JBT that included a great block from Kevin Jones saw them pull back the gap to 9-9 and then continue on to pull ahead.
A good serve from Mark Loynd saw a deflection off Joan Smith go for a fantastic basket but unfortunately not the three points. Play continued with both sides doing well and going point for point, but JBT closed out the set 25-21.
Set two started with a good serve from Jill Hibbert which drew an enthusiastic dive from Jimmy Morris. Play continued evenly with both teams again going point for point for some time before powerful serving from Kevin Smith allowed Sandwick to gain the upper hand. However, JBT called a timely time-out to disrupt his serving streak.
A senior moment from Jill Hibbert caused confusion in the JBT serve but they were still able to pull ahead to 24-22, which caused Sandwick to call a time-out. This proved to be a great decision as the score changed to 25-24 in their favour. However, JBT again held their nerve and won 28-26.
The third set started shakily with mistakes on either side of the net keeping the scores level. Both teams gradually found some form and good work at the net from Kevin Smith and Kevin Jones kept the scores climbing evenly.
A good hit down the line from Donna Murray saw JBT gain the lead and from there they marched on to a lead of 18-11. Good play from JBT and accurate serving from James Johnson saw JBT continue to pull away from Sandwick and forced them to take a time out at 23-12 down. However, unaffected by this JBT continued on to close out the set 25-12 and win the match 3-0.
MVPs for Sandwick were Kevin Smith and Joan Smith and for JBT were Kevin Jones and Louise Birnie.
Division Two
Burra 1, JBT Juniors 3
(6-25, 18-25, 26-24, 14-25)
The match started disappointingly for Burra after their last two consecutive wins. They struggled to cope in the first set with the consistent serving of Joshua Morrison taking the juniors to an early lead of 10-0.
A great hit from Burra’s Gary Teale helped to settle his side briefly, but more organised and mature play from the Juniors gave them the power to control this set with some excellent volleyball, and win 25-6.
Burra came back on with Stacey Laurenson delivering her usual powerful serve, which helped Burra settle and regain some control. However, this was short-lived with a combination of more great serving from Jordan Morrison and the powerful front court duo of Joshua Morrison and James Aitken taking Juniors to a 9-5 lead.
Burra started to settle again with more direct serving, helping to them stay in stay in the game. However, with Juniors starting to make more use of their three touches the set was soon theirs, 25-18.
Set three started evenly to 4-4, with stronger play and passing from Burra enforcing errors on the Juniors side. With effective blocking from Burra’s Teale and confidence growing the set continued point for point.
This set saw the Juniors producing their most unsettled play of the match, with much briefer glimpses of the play they are capable of. Burra came together with good setting from Joyce Adamson allowing Gary Teale and Steven Henry to deliver their best hitting of the match and keep them in the game at 21-20.
Play continued point for point until Stacey Laurenson’s serve eventually came through for Burra as they took the set 26-24.
It was a more confident Burra side who returned to court for set four, but this did not help them deal with the force of Jordan Morrison’s serving and Juniors were very quickly 8-1 in front. Good play from Teale and better service reception helped Burra stay within reach at 15-10. However, powerful hitting again from James Aitken and strong serving from Joshua Morrison ensured the Juniors finished off the set 25-14, taking the match 3-1.
MVPs for Burra were Gary Teale and Stacey Laurenson while for JBT Juniors, James Aitken and Joshua Morrison stood out.
Fixtures
Clickimin Centre: DITT v Burra at 7pm (first referee JBT II, second referee, JBT I); JBT II v JBT I at 9pm (first referee DITT, second referee Burra).
Sandwick games Hall: Shetland Ladies v Harry’s Hotspurs at 6.30 pm (first referee Sandwick II, second referee LadyBoy Express); Sandwick II play LadyBoy Express at 8.30pm (first referee Shetland Ladies, second referee Harry’s Hotspurs).
Hat Night
For anyone who fancies a taste of volleyball and those already playing in the league there is a hat night on Friday, 17th October. All levels of player are welcome.
