Warwick Riga men secured a sensational victory to storm in to the final of the KO Cup for the first time in the club’s history. The Riga team held their nerve to win a thrilling five setter last Saturday in Sheffield and are now looking forward to the final in Guildford on 17 April against London Malory.
The match against Sheffield was much closer than the previous encounters between the teams which had all been won in three or four sets by Riga. However, on this occasion Sheffield, roared on by a very vociferous & partisan crowd, started the match as the better side and took an early lead through some very good attacking play. The Riga team seemed a little nervous to start with and struggled in the first set to defend Sheffield’s varied attack and although the Riga block improved gradually during the set it wasn’t enough to prevent a first set loss,25-21.
Riga showed just how much they have improved of late, stepping up another gear to take control in the second and third sets with far more difficult serving, much improved & decisive attacking options, a far better formed block at the net & some really good defensive work particularly by 17 year old libero, Matthew Howe. Riga’s play had suddenly become far less predictable and setter, Phil Wyles, was using the middle hitters very effectively to take the pressure off the outside hitters. Both sets saw little runs of points going Riga’s way when long rallies were won and Sheffield got stuck on certain rotations.
Matt Howe: good defensive work
The fourth set saw a good start and an early 5-2 lead by Riga but from being in apparent control the visitor’s managed a total loss of concentration & literally didn’t trouble Sheffield from that point onwards in the set. Sheffield increased the pressure on the passers with some difficult serving and Riga had to fall back on their outside hitters who couldn’t get past the well formed block. Sheffield quickly turned the set around and finished the set decisively.
The fifth set turned out to be a rollercoaster ride for the supporters of both teams. Riga started off the better team and took an early lead. Sheffield came back strongly to take the initiative and lead 12-10 towards the end of the set. A hastily called time out from coach Tom Young focused his team’s efforts on not making any mistakes which they did exceptionally well putting all the pressure back on the young Sheffield team & at 13-13 two mistakes from their opponents allowed Riga to secure a fantastic victory in very difficult surroundings.
Coach Tom Young was delighted with the result. "This was a very good team performance on our side, we didn’t play as well as we could but everybody was working for each other and in the end that made the difference. We now have 6 weeks to get ourselves ready for the final in Guildford, it’ll be a great experience for the whole team & we’re under no illusions about the task ahead but if we play to our full potential then who knows what can happen in the final showcase game of the season... & it’s fantastic that Riga will be a part of it."