Despite mixed results in their last two games, the youngsters from Spalding Saracens Volleyball Club are still clinging on to top spot in the league.
A match at home against Priory Ruskin Academy (Grantham) saw Saracens take a comfortable early lead at 9-3, which continued throughout the match at 17-11.
Grantham managed to claw a few points back, but Saracens took the set by a comfortable 25-15 margin.
The Grantham side offered a better show in the second set, though. Despite good serving from Dan Barrass giving Saracens a 7-2 lead, the away side edged back to 10-10.
However, good and consistent serving from Harrison Hall saw Saracens pull away to lead 20-12. And, with Grantham unable to fight back, Saracens took the set 25-14.
Another strong comeback from visitors saw them match Saracens throughout the third set, but the Spalding young guns finally edged it 25-22 to take the match 3-0.
Matt Urry was awarded most valuable player for Saracens.
Another home fixture, this time against Lincoln Cannons, then served up a five-set thriller.
Due to unavailability, Saracens started with an unusual formation. Still, they kept putting points on the board – and with relative newcomer Simon Stone taking the serve, the Spalding side managed to pull away to take an 18-8 lead before sealing the set 25-15.
The second set saw both sides playing good, flowing volleyball. At 8-8 Cannons just started to pull away, getting an extra point on each rotation.
Saracens the serving from Vargas difficult to handle and slipped to a 13-25 loss.
Set three proved to be a thriller, with each team matching the other point for point throughout the set. With Harrison Hall serving, Saracens managed to take the final two points required to take a 2-1 lead.
A similar thread ran through set four, but with the scores at 19-19, Saracens were only able to manage to score one more point before Cannons secured the set.
In the clincher, Saracens slipped 8-4 down at the changeover before finally losing out 15-11. Dan Barrass receiving the MVP accolade this time around.
Coach Tim Barzycki said: “I was disappointed with the overall performance of the squad against a team they should have beaten.
“However, the fact remains we are still top of league which is a great performance for a junior team playing in an adult league.
“If we keep winning the games we have left we will still be top of the league when it matters. We also have a cup semi-final to look forward to.”
- Training for beginners aged ten and over takes place at Spalding Grammar school on Monday evenings from 6.30pm-8pm. Adults train on Sunday nights.
