Match Report

Oxford MNVL vs Leeds

Date:
22 Jan 2011
Location:
Gryphon Hall, Leeds
Result:
3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-13)
MVP:
Gabriele Devita (as voted by us), Martijn Stroo (as voted by Leeds)
Players:
Jon Williams (setter), Andrew White (opposite), Scott Hale, Paul Swift (middles), Martijn Stroo, Gabriele Devita (outsides)

Comments

"

Words fail me, but I'll carry on regardless. This is one for the annals of Oxford, up there with the birth of Richard the Lionheart and the highjinks at Swyndlestock Tavern. Unbe-frickin-lievable.

Before we even set off, there were problems. While the trusty few (Scott, Martijn, Jon, Gabri) were, as the name implies, trusty, and Andy (libero for the student team) was keen to come, that still left us a little short. However, ever-willing to make sacrifices, Paul agreed that his girlfriend, Jackie, should take on the baby-sitting duty he had signed up for. With such nobility fortunes are won.

Leeds had come down to Oxford early in the season. They weren't big hitters, but they were canny and had excellent defence. It just seemed impossible to put the ball on the floor. They'd won the first set, Oxford regrouped in the second, and then one of their players badly damaged his knee ligament. They only had the six players, so he bravely kept going until eventually his leg collapsed under him. Oxford had won the match as a result, but it was a stern reminder of what can happen when you only bring the bare minimum.

When we arrived at the beautiful, but rather over-heated, hall, we found that Leeds had forgotten their kit. Munificently (and with only a slight hesitation), we loaned them our extras. We also found that their team had been augmented by Sam Bussey (outside, ex semi-pro, ex-Sheffield Hallam student team) and Dave Roberts (playing setter, ex-Sheffield Hallam, possibly future semi-pro).

In the first set, Oxford burst into a huge lead of seven points. Leeds took a time-out, regrouped, and came back strongly, taking the set 25-23. The second set was also tight, but Oxford were making several mistakes on both service and defence. It ended weakly enough, with Paul ending a come- back attempt by serving into the net at 24-22.

The third set was a disaster. The middles were blocked, the outsides couldn't kill the ball, our serve receive disintegrated. The Leeds opposite, who had an excellent jump, proved a big hitter, while Dave Roberts' deceptive sets ensured plenty of solo blocking. With a commanding lead, Leeds subbed off their weaker outside hitter to give a bench player some court-time. Oxford were well down when the situation turned farcical. Martijn had hit from opposite into the block. The ball rebounded high and wide out towards 5. Andy, looking at the path of the ball, called it out. Paul, standing inside the line, gazed earnestly away from the path of the ball towards the side line. The ball bounced off his shoulder. Stan would have been proud.

At that point Oxford were 20-11 down. That moment of grim comedy, of sheer 'well this is just ridiculous'-ness was the turning point. Suddenly, knowing defeat was well-nigh certain, the tension vanished. Everyone on the team suddenly chilled. Leeds tried setting their middle, but twice failed to connect. Under a little pressure, Dave set the new outside, who creamed into the middle of the net. Leeds took a time-out, but the momentum was Oxford's now. They came storming back, winning point after point, laughing with the audacity of hope. Leeds' service receive wilted, their hitters made errors. Oxford's defence picked up everything and recycled with a will. Leeds replaced their outside, but to no avail. Oxford won the set, unbelievably, 27-25. Madness.

The fourth set was slightly less manic, but only just. At the sharp end of the set, Oxford were down 23-20. Now though, we knew we could turn it around. A mere three points down? When we'd been down 9? Pah. We'll take this set, ta muchly.

In the fifth, it was neck and neck the whole way to turn-over. Leeds were nervous, making some errors, but Bussey and the opposite were still dangerous. Martijn was back to his imperious self. Andy (with several kills, and only one error on his stat-sheet) took control of the serve receive, occupying half the court. Jon's fateful words 'let's side-out, then I'll serve out for the match' were prophetic. Cool as an ice-cold cucumber, he popped a tricky serve over. Leeds set opposite, were blocked, set outside. Nervous, the hitter set the ball over, deep into one. Gabri and Paul, who'd shifted across to reinforce the line, chose to let it go ... out. 15-13. Cue wild exhultations, celebrations, bouncing around by that tight-knit band of brothers.

"

Report by Paul

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