"What", "if" and "but". Three little words that are able to inflict a lot of post match psychological damage. What if I had spiked to somewhere else? If the outside was blocked properly, then he wouldn't have scored that point. But we nearly had them.

It is easy to break down a losing performance into what could have been and what so very nearly was. The temptation is there to point fingers in any team sport, but the truth of it is that in team sports, we both win together, and lose together. No individual is ever responsible for the team's loss.

This blame culture that we have in society about picking out individuals who are culpable was very recently highlighted by one of the club's team captains when diagnosing a local league match loss, and his point about the loss being shared proves true. In a team game, everyone is responsible for every point, both scoring and conceding. If the setter fails to set properly, then the hitter doesn't have the optimum chance to take full advantage. If the middle misses the block, then the team might concede.

The reason I'm highlighting this is because Spikers lost 3-1 to Stockport VC at the weekend in a match where they might very well have been asking themselves these very questions. Stockport took the first set 25-20 whilst Spikers took the second set impressively with a 25-23 win. 25-21 was the scoreline in the third set as Stockport went two sets up. The fourth set was a tough battle but the home team took the match with a 29-27 result.

The final set was quite key here as, had it gone just slightly in the opposite favour, then I might be writing a report on a fantastic win, but naturally, the team will be asking these questions with those three little words at the forefront and I do say "naturally" because as human beings, we strive to be perfect in whatever we do, and volleyball is no different. Whilst losing is never anybody's cup of tea, the performance as a whole was fantastic and Aaron Granados especially made his mark by picking up his very first MVP. It just wasn't their day, but they need to hold their heads up high, forget about dissecting the "whats", "ifs" and "buts" and look ahead to the next fixture.

Next up is York VC and whilst the boys will be hoping for a change of fortunes in the result, their performance has never faltered and I have just three closing words for them. You did good!

The second round cup game against Team Essex Blaze was a case of David vs Goliath as Spikers went into the match as the underdog against a team that plays at the highest level of the NVL. To put it in context, think of a Premier League club playing a League One side.

Blaze took the match 3-0 with the scoreline 25-15, 25-18 and 25-18. In all sports sometimes the underdog has his day, Japan beating South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup or a little known 19 year old Swiss Tennis player, Roger....something or other, toppling Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001. Sport has its shocks but unfortunately for Norwich, it was business as usual for Essex, this dog will have to wait a little longer for its day.

Goliath prevailed against David. He won this battle, but David should not in any way be disappointed with his performance. On two occasions, it is a credit to the boys losing a set to a team of this calibre by a meagre margin of just 7 points. Had lady luck been on their side, then 7 points could have easily been swung in their favour. But it was not meant to be. This was a match that every single player put all of their effort into and this was reflected by each player being named as MVP. It shows just how much unity these guys have and how much the entire team cares about the performance.

Team Essex Blaze march onto the third round of the cup whilst Spikers line up Stockport VC in their sights in their next league game.

Goliath will eventually fall and David just needs to keep his head up high and take all the positives from his performance. It was a game played with heart right to the end, and David will have his vengeance.