M1 join W1 in the third round of the cup
EVA Knock Out Cup, 10 November 2007
3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-16)
Match Report by Dan Turnbull
Middlesborough College 2 were the visitors to the unfamiliar surroundings of Myton School, Warwick on Saturday for round 2 of the Men’s KO Cup.
Mindful of the fact that the last time Riga faced Div 3 opposition, also in round 2 of the cup back in 2005, they needed 5 sets to over come Brentwood Estonians. Riga looked to impose themselves from the outset, which they duly did. A 5-0 score line in favour of Riga was quickly established with an ace from Phil Wyles and successive blocks from Dan Turnbull & Kees de Hoogh. This lead was increased further to 10-1 with Chris ‘kiwi’ Anderson at the service line, forcing Middlesbrough into an early time-out. The next period of play saw both teams trade side outs, Middlesbrough helped via a number of Riga service errors. At 16-8, Riga stepped up there play to take a comfortable first set 25-11.
Riga opened the second set with new back up setter Tomasz Morawski on for Wyles. Morawski was playing his first match with Riga M1 as setter having spent the early part of the season assisting the second team, in order to maximize his court time in this new role. The change affected Riga’s momentum initially as everyone got to terms with the switch, with the teams once again more or less trading side outs up to 12-10. Another series of blocks from Turnbull & de Hoogh forced Middlesbrough into a number of hitting errors. A kill from Chris ‘Eng’ Anderson saw the score reach 21-12. Riga took the second set 25-15.
Morawski opened the third set with an ace, only for Middlesbrough to level at 1-1, winning the longest rally of the match. The point being won after a number of Riga blocks were picked up, followed by some spectacular pickups from Morawski & ‘Eng’ Anderson, Middlesbrough eventually winning the point with a tip. With the scores tied at 5-5 John Gilling produced the blocks that gave Riga the advantage 8-5. More great defence from ‘Eng’ Anderson meant Middlesbrough weren’t going to win any cheap points. The score was extended to 19-13 with Turnbull at the service line. A ‘kiwi’ Anderson moved the scores to 21-14 before a service run from name sake ‘Eng’ Anderson. Riga took the set and the match 25-16 and will now face Manchester at home in the next round in January.
Riga Squad: Chris A (UK), Chris A (NZ), Kees, John, Dan, Phil W, Luca, Tomasz
Coach: Tom Young
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