The second game was against the Essex Juniors who are our big rivals, so we knew from the beginning that both teams would have to fight to win. We have played many games against each other from U15’s to U18’s but, it’s always a great game to be involved in.
Olivia Leonardi started the set off with a great service run, but Essex Juniors managed to stay in the set with the some good service pressure from their captain. It was 17-23 to Essex Juniors and that’s when we had to begin our fight back. Unfortunately, Essex Juniors took the first set 24-26.
The second set started very well with another service run from Charlotte Bontems. We managed to get ahead early on in the set, but some mistakes saw Essex Juniors take advantage. It was another tight set as both teams were playing very well for every point. Setter Olivia Leonardi was able to connect well with her outside hitters Sophie Lane and Amy Compton which meant that Tendring Ladies Academy were able to take the second set with the score of 28-30.
The third set saw Tendring Ladies and Essex Juniors trading point with 6-7 due to an improved performance from the passing unit led by Alvie Co and Rebecca Williamson which allowed the setter to have the opportunity to set all attackers. Near the end of the set, Rosie Mankee came on to set after an injury on court. However, Essex Junior showed through at the end of the set with good blocking helping them to take the set with 24-26.
Fourth set came and both teams were very tired. The match started off with Essex Juniors serving, fortunately the Sophie Lane was able to make a perfect pass to the setter Rosie Mankee, who was then able to make a perfect set to middle, Emily Mansfield and was able to win the point by hitting the ball into a space. Fortunately for us, we were able to stay consistent and were able to take the set with 23-25.
The last set started off with Essex Juniors with the first serve. However, we weren’t going down without a fight and so began to pile the pressure on our opposition and therefore we were able to get ahead in the set with 5-8. The momentum stayed with us for the rest of the set, allowing us to finish the game 3-2 winners.
MVP - Alvie Co