Durrington Ashcombe reaches National Volleyball Final for the second year PDF Print E-mail
Written by Freda Bussey   
Saturday, 14 March 2009 17:44

Durrington High School playing under the name of its partner club, Ashcombe, Volleyball Club, reached the National Under 16 Volleyball 2009 Finals for the second year running without dropping a set at The University of Nottingham on Saturday 7th March. The side bases training at Durrington High School on Monday and Fridays and eight out of the ten players are students at the school.

In their first pool match the team easily beat Richmond 2-0 with consistent and powerful serving from Georgia Bird and Megan Warren stopping Richmond from setting up any net attacks. Nunthorpe Eagles from the Midlands were the second opposition and again Durrington Ashcombe showed strength in serve and net play. Hannah Carey showed why she has been selected for the England Under 20 squad by her powerful play at net, blocking and spiking any pass that came her way. Coaches Darren Ball and Freda Bussey were able to substitute new Under 14 players Abbey Peters, Robyn Wisdom, Emily Begley and Sophie Szyszko into the team to gain valuable court experience without risking the match. By the third match Ashcombe were in confident mood and all players were able to set up attacks and defend positively. Nicole Anderle and Georgia Bird found their form at the net, attacking in all zones and their opposition, Tettenhall Tigers, from Birmingham, were unable to cope with the power. Boswells, from Essex were the semi-final opposition and in the past the team has caused problems for Durrington Ashcombe’s defence but they were no match for them this time. Setters Beth Taylor and Sian Warren assured that every attack was matched with a faster and more powerful one from their team and they won the first set 25-8. The second set went much the same way with the power of Hannah Carey and Georgia Bird ensuring that Boswells never got into the game, going down 25-13.  In the other pool Marske VC [North], Boswells [East] and Redhill [Midlands] all lost to Tameside [Manchester].  Ashcombe were in 2 other semi finals over the weekend of competition all held at Nottingham University. In the Under 18 competition the Ashcombe team, with local players Jess Grimson, Susan Hoare, Hannah Carey, Georgia Bird, Bethany Taylor and Izzy Fumagalli were unable to match the Under 16 success, losing to Tameside in the semi final 2-1. In the senior Cup Ashcombe, top of Division 2 NVL, reached the semi final by beating 1st Division opposition London Malory and Wessex [ Poole], in previous round but the power of Swiss Cottage [London] with a team dominated by Polish and Czech nationals, were too strong for the young Ashcombe side. Ashcombe are top of Division 2 and with wins in their two final league matches against South Hants and Brentwood Essex, could regain their place in Division 1 for the 2009-10 season.  

The finals are being held this year at Ponds Forge, Sheffield on Saturday 18th April [Senior Finals] and Sunday 19th April [Junior Finals]

Photo of winning Under 16 team:Left to right:Back row: Georgia Bird, Sian Warren, Megan Warren, Hannah Carey [Captain], Robyn Wisdom, Nicole Anderle and Emily Begley. Seated: Beth Taylor, Abbey Peters and Sophie Szyszko
Last Updated ( Saturday, 14 March 2009 18:03 )