Triple Away Game Wins for Essex Rebels Volleyball
Sheffield v Essex Rebels Men
The Essex Rebels men’s team managed to come away with two wins and 5 out of 6 potential points and crucially build some momentum heading into playoffs. On Saturday the Rebels had a 3-0 win against a solid Sheffield team. The Rebels put together a strong all-around team effort which allowed the team to get a needed confidence-boosting win. After a tough loss last weekend to Nottingham, the team worked really hard in training to make sure they came out on top this weekend and it showed. A very solid serving performance put Sheffield in trouble and helped our block defence to carry the Rebels to the win. Thomas Jefferson stepped up and was dominant at the net offensively and blocking. We were able to handle Sheffield’s serve which allowed Euan Fraser to run a quick and efficient offence that gave Sheffield problems the entire game. Thomas Shatimehin stepped into the starting lineup and had an instant impact with his offensive capabilities. Sheffield put up a hard-fought scrappy game but it wasn’t quite enough. Sheffield was led by middle Will Evans who had a strong offensive game and libero Thomas Graham-Jones who anchored their defence. It was also a crucial result which helped secure the seventh spot in the Super League table and provide a base to put further up the rankings. Winning the game 3:0, 25:19, 25:19, and 25:19 demonstrated great consistency in service pressure and block defence.
MVP: Euan Fraser
Sunderland v Essex Rebels Men
Rebels win 3:2
Sunday 12th of February the Essex Rebels took on Team Sunderland at Sunderland University. Despite coming off a 3-0 victory against Sheffield Hallam yesterday, the team came into the game showing some fatigued but the team pulled together to work hard for each other and put maximum effort into each point.
Although the Rebels had a difficult start to the game losing the 1st set they were able to come back from it with a big performance, noticeable from Tom Shatimehin #17 and Thomas Jefferson #18 who were able to help the team in crucial moments, by both building a lead and by stopping Sunderland gaining any momentum. Both played a pivotal role in securing the second and third sets for Essex.
MVP, Shatimehin played some of his best offence of the season so far, lighting the game up and was unstoppable with points from direct kills down the line, cross court, off the block as well as clever tips to find the gaps on court. He maintained his offensive success from the 1st point to the very last.
In the fourth set Sunderland up’d their service and offence pressure to build up a 3 point lead. Jefferson’s took his blocking game up another level from the previous day, in both the middle and on the wings but it wasn’t enough to win the set, and therefore the game went to a tie-break set.
The 5th set was balanced at 6-6 when Ben Osborne went back to serve, scoring an ace, followed by putting Sunderland out of the system, helping to give the Rebels a 3-point lead. Essex held the advantage and won the final set 15-12 and the game 3:2.
We move on next week where we will face our arch-rivals Nottingham away and hope to bring back the victory, followed by Newcastle (Staffs) at home on Sunday. Let’s go Essex Rebels!!!
London Inter Crocs v Essex Rebels Women
Rebels win 3:0
The Rebels women’s volleyball travelled to London to face off against the London Inter Crocs. With fantastic leadership by team captain, Ariadne Sierra the four-hour total journey was well worth the 3-0 victory brought home by the Rebel women. In set one, defence from Lea Borovec and Ariadne Sierra was especially notable as they constantly threw their bodies to the ground to keep their team in the rally. The pin hitters Borovec, Sarah Edwards and Leah Blight were there to slam the ball to the ground, followed by a canon-like noise echoing through the hall. The first set was close but the Rebel women managed to pull away with a 25-20 win.
In set two, the Rebels were playing against their own mental game. Play became messy and out of the system, keeping the score tight and even falling behind for a few points. The team addressed their decline in play and spoke about possible solutions to get back their lead. The Rebels pulled themselves together and managed a messy comeback. This was helped by some big blocks from middles Charlotte Bontems and Grace Igbokwe. The Rebels won the second set 25-21.
Team captain Sierra pulled the girls in and said they needed to keep themselves together and to focus on controlling the controllable. The Rebels keep their poise and discipline. Set three started close just like the others, with the Crocs having some impressive plays of their own, however, the Rebels up’d their game to the next level, leaving the Crocs behind. The last point was scored by outside hitter Emily Priestley, surviving a rarely-seen top spin serve that aced the unprepared opponents.
Alex Chinery Quote:
“Full credit to Crocs who gave us a tough game today. I was pleased by our professionalism and poise, especially in the tight second set. I’m also over the moon for Sarah who had the breakout dominant performance that we’ve seen in training multiple times over the last month. A successful day as we chase down Malory in 3rd.”
