NVL Division 1, 09 December 2006
Cambridge vs. Warwick Riga
3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 18-25, 15-10)
Match Report by Andreas Wicht
Déjà vu
Warwick Riga went to Cambridge looking to complete the double win, while Cambridge clearly would want revenge for their loss away 3 weeks ago.
The home side started well putting Riga under pressure. At 4-1 Cambridge seemed to have gotten off to the better start and Riga was still struggling to get used to their new kit. Some good play allowed Riga to level the score and even get 2 point clear to make it 6-4 forcing Cambridge to take a time-out. This allowed Cambridge to come back and get 3 ahead themselves to make the score 15-11. This time Riga needed a time-out. In the following the teams traded points until the set was tied at 23-23. Two consecutive points for Cambridge won them the first set.
Loosing the set while being so close seemed to have taken its toll on the Riga players as they were trailing throughout the second set. Setter Phil Wyles had to make many almost impossible plays and getting pulled off the net left him with limited attacking options. Consequently, Cambridge also took the second set 25-22.
In the 3rd set Riga got off to an excellent start mainly injected by a great performance from Chris Anderson (ENG) who seemed to answer his coaches call to step up and make a difference. Some great service runs and good passing allowed Phil to actually set the ball to where he wanted to. Riga also seemed to cope much better with their opponent’s roll-shots because Riga now seemed to pick up almost everything. This made a number of rallies longer than Cambridge could cope with. Riga took the 3rd set convincingly 25-20.
Riga continued to play well throughout the 4th set and since the passing had improved the middle attack started to work now. Martijn Stroo came on for Dan Turnbull halfway through the set and showed that all the blocking training paid off. At set point for Riga Chris Anderson (ENG) made an amazing pick up diving halfway across the court allowing his team mates to make the play and take the set 25-18.
The 5th started with both teams trading points until 4-4. A run 3 of jump services by Cambridge got them ahead. The teams changed ends at 8-6 and Riga was still in with a chance to win it. Cambridge managed to extend their lead to 11-7. A great block by Chris Anderson (ENG) allowed Riga to side out, but it was too little, too late. Riga let the set slip away 15-10.
Riga Squad: Chris A (UK), Chris A (NZ), Kees, John, Damon, Luca, Tomasz, Martijn, Dan, Andreas, Phil W.
Coach: Tom Young
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