London Malory beat Sheffield 25:14 25:16 25:21

Raynes Park High School, London SW20

Saturday 18th November 2006

Having lost in Manchester two weeks ago after being two sets ahead and having had a walk-over against traffic jammed Swiss Cottage in the Cup last week, Malory were in no mood today to be gentle. A combination of pride in their club and determination to restore their own reputation left the younger Sheffield players in disarray.

The first set initiated the pattern for the afternoon. Behind strong serving, especially by Aaron Stolberg who oversaw the score rising from 9:5 to 16:5 and Steve Fee who served from 16:6 to 20:6, Alex Bialokoz and Andy Carr hit well as did those servers when in the front line – and occasionally in the back. Australian Mark Burns, whom I had not previously seen playing, also impressed. The blocking was formidable giving the backcourt extra security and allowing Richard Dobell so many options that Sheffield could produce few shots of their own. Richard was nominated as Most Valuable Player: well deserved but having his task eased by the quality of the passes he received.

The visitors did raise their game at the start of the second but at 7:6 and in each of the next two rallies Richard produced amazing sets for unstoppable attacks and Malory eased their way through the rest of the set – indeed the rest of the match although they relaxed a little in the middle of the third and allowed Sheffield to close to 15:12. They even brought on Joe Mildred and Andy Omoshebi each for a cameo appearance showing no sign that they were under any pressure. This was something like the Malory of old. They hadn’t needed to give Marcus Russell a kit bag to pretend he was going to play when he arrived early to watch. It didn’t terrify Sheffield; only Keith Trenam was old enough to remember him.

Nevertheless, no player really shone for the visitors. I thought that individually they all were trying hard and none played badly but they were not permitted to operate as a team, faced blockers who were jumping higher than their attackers – and often the sets – and, by the end seemed shell shocked at the quality shown by their opponents. Malory’s record so far this season has not been impressive so their surprise is not strange. They may have been unlucky but, with Bristol losing in Newcastle, Staffs to throw the top of the table wide open and Malory a lifeline, who knows? A visit here from Docklands in two weeks time will provide a clear pointer. Could the first person there please save me a seat on the left of the viewing gallery?

London Malory

Starting Six: Alex Bialokoz, Mark Burns, Andy Carr, Richard Dobell (captain), Steve Fee and Aaron Stolberg.

Libero: Grant Martindale.

Other players: Joe Mildred, Richard Newman and Andy Omoshebi.

Coach: Jefferson Williams.

Sheffield

Starting Six: Sam Bussey, Dave Clayden, Matthew Howe, Kieran O’Malley (captain), Craig Richardson and Alexander Robertson.

Libero: Neil White.

Other players: Wayne Davies, Anthony Hignett, Joel Miller and Ben Wilkinson.

Coach: Keith Trenam.

Douglas Barr-Hamilton

Men’s First Division

League Table P W L Sets Points

Leading positions F A

1. London Polonia 7 6 1 20 7 19

2. London Docklands 7 5 2 15 7 17

3. City of Bristol 6 5 1 17 6 16

4. London Malory 6 4 2 16 9 14

5. Sheffield 7 3 4 12 13 13

6. Newcastle Staffs 7 2 5 9 18 11

Acknowledgements

English Volleyball Association web site and results service.