Saturday Cup Tie

2 up and 2 down Cup-tie Saturday

Saturday 25th January 2014

First game of the day was the City of Ragazzi Boys versus South Ayrshire II. The team from the second Division were up against it in terms of the level of the competition, but they worked hard and earned lots of respect for the attitude and performance.!

Interviewed before the game Su Captain Steve Todd said “Our squad is low in numbers today because of injuries, but we hope to work as a team and put on a volleyball show.” Part of that show was utility player Colin Sangster successfully appearing as a middle blocker …..great team-man!

In the first set the South Boys were a little overwhelmed and lost 25 – 9. Second set they pulled their socks up, they served tougher, the got a terrific performance form Fraser Dunlop, and lost 25-18. Third set the City Boys worked harder, played tough, and won 25-17.

Mike McConville was mentoring the refereeing team for this match, with Marc McLaughlin and Jordan Scott taking charge of their first match featuring a Division I side – they did well!

So, a great start to the day – 1 played, 1 won!

Meanwhile in the East Coast……
The Baby Suettes travelled to face their toughest rivals yet - City of Edinburgh in the Scottish Cup.

The girls were realistic and knew it would be a tough game and that Edinburgh would be the clear favourites. Our target was clear - put them under pressure and hustle for everything.

The first set started well and at 7-6 to Su, Edinburgh coach Nick Moody was forced to call a time out. Although Edinburgh piled on the pressure from Jen Thom, the Baby Suettes worked hard. However, Edinburgh were too strong and saw out the set 25-12

At the change of ends, the Suettes set out their plan - get more points! That they did - with Lucy finding Marketa Hola on the outside an Marketa thundering the ball on the floor, through the Edinburgh defence. Edinburgh won the set - 25-14.

In the third set, Edinburgh started well, but Libero Raveen Gill took control back court and the passing unit regained composure, coping with the tough Edinburgh serve. It was close into the middle of the set, with some strong hits from Claire and Priya, with Su only behind by a few points. But then Lucy got injured and the rotation for confusing! Despite this, we still managed to get 19 points, losing the set 25-19.

Although it was a 3-0 loss for the Baby Suettes, the team were happy with the performance and happy about the experience they had gained from playing at the higher level.

2 played – 1 won

Game 3 – Su Ragazzi II V Glasgow Mets II

The game of the day at Coltness was the clash between the Boys from Su Ragazzi II and the troops from Glasgow Mets II. This was an encounter to relish. The two teams have very different personalities, and there is a real sense of rivalry between them, but together they served up a top-top Division II encounter.

The scoring set on set was squeaky-tight. The home team lost the first set 23-25, then lost the second 24-26. The visitors were getting top performances from their outside hitters, while the home side’s blocking unit was scoring consistently – it was a fascinating match up.

Set three the Mets were on fire and established a clear lead in the middle part of the set, however, slowly but surely the home side clawed their way back and captured the set 25-23. The game was being played in the most competitive environment, with great performances from several players……..and the fourth set disappeared for the Su II team! They lost the set and the match 16- 25. Cue some jumping about by the visitors.

This was rich fare indeed. The quality of the match was exceptional, and the visitors asked some serious questions of the young Su Team, questions they did not fully answer, but it is all part of the learning curve, and the safety net is that they now get to play in the Thistle Bowl.

This was a tough lesson, partly because the home side played so very well……but then no-one said it was meant to be easy!

3 played – 1 won.

The last game of the day saw the Fabulous Suettes play NUVOC

This was a game with a smile!

The team from the second division came to play the Suettes, to test them, and to enjoy the opportunity to compete against a top flight side. The Suettes were too high, too fast, and too powerful for the visitors, but that did not daunt them! They played the whole match with a smile on their face. They chased balls down, they served tough, they scrambled and fought for every point, they helped make this match a pleasure to be involved in.

Ellen Barwise for the home side established a very calm and well balanced offence. Laura McReady had an outstanding passing game, Jillian Galloway served the skin off the ball, Carly McKinlay scored consistently through the middle attack, and all-in-all this was an excellent performance from the Suettes.

So the day ended with a 2 up and 2 down record, not a bad cup-tie Saturday at all!