Women's NVL Firsts Vs. Dulwich Tuskers
Saturday 11th October 2008
The University of Birmingham women’s national league first team won for the first time in the 2008-2009 season. After two loses they beat Dulwich Tuskers 3:0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-11).
The first set was easily won by UBVC. Despite a few service mistakes the team kept distance from Dulwich Tuskers for the whole set. This was possible thanks to a good level played by the whole team, several effective blocks and good hits by Sandra Haubold. Tuskers were fighting very well in defense and managed to gain few points in difficult situations. However it didn’t stop UBVC winning the set.
The second set was a much more closely contested. Both teams fought for every point and made rotations very often. UBVC made Dulwich Tuskers take their first time out when they were loosing 9:12. However, immediately after the timeout Tuskers scored a run of points and pushed the score to 13:14. The set was very dramatic, with Monika Uriasz substituted on for Victoria Wilson in a crucial part of the set and playing only 2 points before suffering a serious knee injury and could take no further part in the match. Despite this UBVC held their nerve and won this dramatic set 26:24.
UBVC played an excellent third set. It showed the difference between the two teams and confirmed that University of Birmingham deserved to win the match. Excellent serving by Karolina Dorobisz contributed to the team’s success. The opposition could not find a way to gain a point on their own serve and UBVC won the last set easily, with Tuskers only scoring 11 points.
UBVC is a new team and needs time to show their skills and potential. There are players from different clubs and backgrounds and also new coaches who do not know the individual players. It is not an easy job to put a team together and succeed taking into account that the team could not start preparation much in advance of the season. However, in their last match UBVC showed that they are a good way along to achieving what is needed – a strong, organized and committed team – and make use of it on the court. We can hope they will keep the good level and develop as a team winning upcoming matches, first on Sunday (19 October 2008) against Leeds.
Match Facts
Competition: National League Division 1.
Played: Home.
Result: Won 3-0.
Set Scores: 25-17, 26-24, 25-11.