Volleyball: Men’s 1s vs Cranfield University 1s
4.2.2015
Wednesday 4th February saw a volleyball fixture between Loughborough Men’s 1s and Cranfield University. The match was due to start at 3pm, however the home team was kept waiting by Cranfield who arrived an hour late. Due to Cranfield’s tardiness, Loughborough were awarded the first set by default before the match had even began, the home team getting off to a winning start.
The match eventually got underway, and the first few minutes saw the teams close on points. Loughborough won their first point in no time at all, however Cranfield were hot on their heels with an equaliser. It was not too long until Cranfield took a three-point lead to Loughborough’s two points. The Loughborough lads did not let themselves feel defeated, and managed to scrape back an equaliser and not stopping there, went on to once again take the lead making the score 5-3. Yet again, Cranfield came back to level the score and for a while the teams were on par with each other. Loughborough gave away a few cheap points away to Cranfield due to their loss of concentration of which resulted in them making easy mistakes, either by hitting the net or going out of play. Nevertheless, that did not stop Loughborough from storming into the lead raising the score to 17-13. Cranfield managed to grab another point with a strong and fast kill after a rally making the score 17-14. Both teams continued to raise their tally of points, with the first set in play ending 25-17 to Loughborough.
Loughborough 2 – Cranfield 0.
The second set in play began with Loughborough taking the lead once more, and they managed to get a 3-0 lead before Cranfield eventually grabbed a point. Nevertheless, Cranfield did not manage to bank another point until Loughborough were 7-1 up, at which point Cranfield managed to get back into the game and raise the score to 10-5. They carried on pushing Loughborough and eventually got their points up to 10 making the overall score 13-10. They did not ease the pressure there and made Loughborough scramble to maintain their lead, which they managed to do, and the score was soon 20-13 to Loughborough. The sudden attack from Cranfield seemed to spur Loughborough on, and they stormed forward scoring consecutive points and getting the score up to 24-17. One more point was needed by Loughborough to win the set, and in turn the match. Loughborough easily managed this and the match ended 25-17. The second set in play was won and combined with the set awarded to Loughborough before the match began it resulted in a 3 sets to 0 win for Loughborough.
Loughborough Student’s Volleyball Club Chair and Women’s First Team player, Jess Burke-Martin reflected on the match, stating, “Considering the awkward start, with the other team being late, Loughborough did so well to maintain their concentration and high levels of play in order to win in straight sets”.
Final Score: Loughborough Men’s 1s – 3
Cranfield University – 0
By Emma Lawton
