Tendring men made it safely through to the quarter final of the national cup on Saturday after beating fellow division 1 team Warwick Riga 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-20).
Tendring had already travelled to Riga on the first game of the season and came away with a straight sets victory so fancied their chances in this tie from the very beginning. However, this is the national cup and anything can happen!
The only notable change to the Tendring starting line up was coach Alex Porter putting himself on through the middle giving former University of Loyola scholar Derek Guimond a well earned rest. Porter proved his worth in the opening points with a swing which caught the faintest of touches off the Riga block and went out the back for Tendring's first point of the game.
Riga started trading with Tendring in the early part of the first set but inconsistent serving and unforced hitting errors gave Tendring a 2 point lead. Tendring never really got out of first gear in this set; consistent volleyball and forcing the other team to make errors lead them to a relatively comfortable victory.
Set two started in a similar fashion with a Riga player attacking a ball that ended up way out the back of court and even half way up the sports hall wall! Tendring were not to get this set as comfortably as the first…
A communication error from Porter and Nick Davies gifted Riga a point, as did a defensive error from captain Stuart Dove. A devastating attack through position two from Kosta Yiannakkos got Tendring back on their feet. A game of trading ensued with Riga sometimes being four points up and Tendring grappling back to take a three point lead. Both teams played inconsistent volleyball but it was Tendring who came out eventual winners after turning up the volume on court and solid passing from the libero and outside players.
Tendring started the third set with much more energy and enthusiasm than the previous two and it paid off. A huge out of system swing from Rob Chilcoat and service pressure from Kosta immediately put Riga under pressure and Tendring were 8-2 up at the first technical.
Tendring continued to pile on the pressure and a crossover play with Mitchell Lawrence and Chilcoat left Riga’s front court and back court defence completely confused. Tendring cruised to victory earning themselves a home fixture against Super 8 side London Lynx 1 in the new year.
MVP for the game went to Nick Davies who said “It was a game of ups and downs for us but we always felt like we were in control. We will have to play a lot better than that when we take on Lynx in order to make it through to the next round.
Tendring’s next home match is at Essex University on Saturday 21st November as they take on Newcastle Staffs in division 1, 15.00 first serve. This match is a double header with the ladies as They take on Polonia in the Super 8 division after the men’s game.
