Men's National League Division 1, 6th April 2002
Tooting Aquila 3
Warwick Riga 0 (25-20 25-20 25-21)
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With the knowledge that Docklands had been given a walkover against Portsmouth, Riga’s quest for second place in National League Division One was ended well before the start of Saturday’s final fixture in London. The match with Aquila took on all the hallmarks of an end of season game and the result, a three-nil defeat for Riga, was hardly surprising in the end. "We’ve had a fantastic season," said skipper Tom Young afterwards, "but for it to end like this is disappointing. We thought we’d still be playing for second place but in the end, the jobs-worths of the English Volleyball Association decided differently. In the match, we hardly got out of first gear and when we did try to up the tempo, we seemed to slip into neutral." |
| Riga certainly started brightly, going 5 – 2 ahead in the first set thanks to Young and Kees de Hoogh. However, Aquila again proved themselves resilient opponents as they stormed back to take an 11 – 7 lead with their captain John Hedlund leading from the front. Once in the lead, Aquila never looked back as the grit and determination that had seen Riga challenging for runner-up slot in the League was decidedly absent. When Aquila ran out winners 25 – 20, few were surprised. |
| Riga again took the lead as the second set got under way. That advantage garnered through John Gilling, Tom Spijkers and the effervescent Young lasted until 13 – 8 before disaster struck. An eight-point serving run from Aquila’s Steve Williams swept a ragged Riga aside and established a firm grip on the set for his team. From then on the visitors were second best in a game of catch-up that concluded at 25 – 20 to the home side. |
| Set three began more closely as neither side appeared able to make the crucial breakthrough, Mark Bottomley and Young again being the prime movers for Riga. Then some blistering serving from Gilling forged a 13 – 8 lead for Riga but almost immediately sloppy play from the visitors allowed Aquila back into the set. From then on the home side seized the initiative and an out of sorts Riga capitulated 25 – 21. |
| "Whilst I’m far from happy about tonight’s performance, we’ve achieved - if not bettered - the goals we set ourselves for this season," claimed Young. "We wanted to finish a clear fourth in the table – and we ended up third. We wanted to make the Cup semi-finals – and we’ve done just that. Yes, we’re disappointed not to finish higher in the table and be in the Cup Final next week but we’ve had the chances to do that – and next year I’m sure we’ll take them. So a fantastic season at the end of the day and credit to everyone in the club." |