Venue: John
Kane Sports Centre, Brunel University, Osterley, London.
Saturday 17th
September 2005
Tameside avoided
relegation last season by the skin of its teeth and, as the score suggests, the
champions, London Malory, brushed them aside at home in Osterley in the first
match of the season. Yet it will be the visitors who gained more from the
encounter; it was almost as though Jefferson Williams’ players were reinforcing
all that Richard Jump had been saying in training in Manchester.
During the opening
set passes to the attackers were put too close to the net and smashes were more
like baby food even than meat and drink and scarcely tested Sarah Bearham,
Katerina Dundjevski, Rachel Laybourne, Georgina Poulton and captain Maria
Bertelli, a Tameside Old Girl who was specially ruthless in front of her
parents so establishing her pedigree in a twin fashion. Although the visitors’
back court play looked secure, they were rarely able to mount a serious attack
and more points came from Malory mistakes than from their own achievements.
However, the quality
of the defence paid dividends in the second set and setters Sally Higginson and
Louise Sheridan who alternated with Victoria Lomax in a system of two
penetrating setters played much more intelligently. As a result the team
remained in contention for the first half of the set before their opponents
raised their game with Sue Marks and Maria Bertelli profiting from good
serving, notably by Katerina Dundjevski. For Tameside, Elina Kuitunen, Emma
Hanrahan and Sally Higginson had begun
to shine. Meanwhile, setter Lucy Wicks was replaced by Lauren Williams in a
farewell appearance as she starts at Loughborough University this week and
will, no doubt, quickly be transferred to the university team.
Tameside briefly
held the lead early in the third but Malory reasserted their authority even
more quickly than in the second and from a 9:6 lead romped home by thirteen
points. Louise Tagg had come on at the start of the set and showed she could
attack in the traditional Malory mould while also producing an ace in her spell
of serving and initiating a textbook 3touch move with her service reception
that made it simple for Lucy Wicks to feed Maria Bertelli powerful smash.
Oldies will remember Louise’s father Melvyn, a stalwart at Britannia Volleyball
Club when they were young.
Malory were without
Lisa Mullarkey, concentrating on her studies in her final year at King’s
College Dental Hospital. They will miss Lucy Boulton who has been transferred
to rivals, Wolverhampton, following her move from London and Nicky Osborne who
will now be playing her volleyball in Austria. Yet they look good enough to be
among the challengers for the 2005-6 title. Tameside do not appear to be a
threat to the elite squads but the players are young and, apart from “Ellie”
Kuitunen have been playing together since they were nine or ten years old.
Ellie joined them three years ago on arrival from Finland at Manchester
University and will be staying in the area now she has her first class honours
degree. There is potential for improvement and, on today’s evidence, the will
to get among the leaders.
Most
Valuable Player? A unanimous vote for Maria Bertelli. She had a head start over
the rest of the players, of course, but I thought she fully deserved the
honour.
Geoff Hollows and English Volleyball
Association web site and results service.