Following on from their game during Valentine’s week, unfortunately our lads just could not woo lady luck as they were beaten 3-0 by York VC.
 
Nigel was awarded the MVP as the boys had one of those days where they couldn’t seem to sync up with each other. We are used to them performing wonderfully during each match, regardless of the end result, but, sadly, the scoreline of what was probably an “ok” performance read: 21-25, 19-25, 15-25.
 
Apart from the final set where the boys maybe lost some concentration, the scoreline for the first two sets doesn’t make for such bad reading and perhaps there was just tougher mental resilience from York VC on the day.
 
Hindsight can be your best friend or your greatest enemy within the game of volleyball. It’s too easy to say, “well, what if we had done this”, but that’s going to change nothing. You analyse what went wrong, where any weaknesses lie and you move onto the next opponent.
 
So, heads up lads, put this one behind you and get back to giving us those wonderful performances that we all love from you.

Love is in the air for a certain group of Norwich ladies.
 
Cupid’s arrow struck the NVL ladies team and their love for the game saw them stroll through their first match against Loughborough Students and then following up with a well-deserved victory over Nottingham Rockets.
 
The morning game was faultless with the girls taking a 3-0 victory (25-11, 25-21 and 25-18) as Sarah-Jane was named MVP. The afternoon session saw a tougher opponent, however, the girls managed to build upon their momentum from the first match to defeat Nottingham 3-1. In a fantastic game, the set scoreline reads 25-18, 27-25, 20-25, 25-17 where Manuela was named the MVP.
 
The second set reflected how much the ladies maintained their composure during the game, but they lost focus in the third as they struggled to complete a whitewash of their opponent. Coming out with a new mindset for the fourth set, Norwich took control of the game and never released their grip as they closed out the match in sublime fashion.
 
Next up is a home round of matches including a big test against an in-form Leicester Athena team who sit third in the table. If Leicester are naming themselves after the Greek goddess of war, then this is one battle that Norwich are ready for, and fully intend to win.

The Spikers men’s team were at home against Stockport Volleyball Club at the weekend and were very unfortunate to be on the receiving end of a 3-1 loss. As always, the team put in a great performance and the score of each set was very tight, but unfortunately they were unable to close out the games and sometimes that’s all this beautiful game boils down to.
 
Stockport took the first set at 23-25, whilst our boys managed the second set with a 25-20 victory. The visitors, however, continued to hold their nerve as they closed out the match taking the third and fourth set at 23-25 and 22-25 respectively.
 
Pooria was named as MVP putting in another stand-out performance and thanks to the line judges, scorers and referee for giving up their time.
 
This season, the guys have been unfortunate on a number of occasions where they have played brilliantly but have been unable to get a firm grip on a set to put it to bed.
 
Lady luck always plays a part in volleyball, so this Valentine’s day, maybe we can woo her in the hope that she throws some victories our way.
 
Watch this space to find out if the courtship was a success!