(04/11/2000)
In a topsy-turvy evening of volleyball at Warwick's St. Nicholas Park Leisure Centre, Riga lost out in more ways than the three-two defeat by National League Division One rivals Stoke might suggest. Despite being heartened by the return of defensive specialist Mark Fearn, the local side were yet again on the wrong end of some errant refereeing and lost Graham Duckett with a twisted ankle in the third set.
Stoke have never lost to Riga in the First Division but the gypsy's curse was powerless to stop a John Gilling inspired home side taking a 4 - 0 lead in the first set. Stoke responded and, with a little help from the referee, pushed steadily ahead. The home team's contributions were now mostly in error and Stoke eased home 25 - 17.
Set two had Riga focused from the off and the match became altogether more competitive. Although Stoke edged into a small lead, captain Tom Young inspired his team to first level the scores at 20 each and then, with Stoke now error-prone, sneak home 25 - 21.
The third set saw most of the drama. After an even handed start, Stoke edged 12 - 10 ahead before the referee adjudged that Young had failed in a spectacular defensive retrieval. Few in the crowd shared the referee's view and Young's protestations accorded him a yellow card. A rattled Riga then fell further behind before Graham Duckett ended his involvement in the game with an ankle injury. What the side lacked in balance they made up for in commitment. However the Stoke lead was too great to yield Riga a result and they went down 25 -22.
Reshaped, Riga got off to a bad start in the fourth set going 10 - 6 behind. A purple patch of serving from Young and dynamic net play by Gilling then catapulted Riga back in front. The set ebbed and flowed as David Nason and Vincent Joubert added their weight to the Riga cause. However it was left to Dan Showler to finish the set and level the match with a 25 - 23 score line.
The deciding fifth set found Stoke taking pole position and an 8 - 4 lead at the turn-around. As this lead extended, Riga's goose looked cooked and despite a rally which saw the score climb to 11 - 12, Stoke's dinner was served at 15 - 11.
"Without Graham's injury and some diabolical refereeing for the second week running, we could have won tonight," said a frustrated captain Tom Young after the game. "We had Stoke on the ropes, that's for sure. Having Mark back made the difference to our defence. We're just running out of attacking players now."
Riga will have to travel to London for their game against Aquila next week without Duckett. With the squad seriously depleted, the situation is desperate. Normally Riga could genuinely entertain prospects of victory against the Londoners but unless attempts to obtain a replacement for Duckett are successful, another defeat is on the cards. The side will be boosted by the news that long-term injury victim, Pete Abraham, is due to restart training this week, although his return to the squad is not imminent.
Riga's women's Division Three side were also in action on Saturday at the St. Nicholas Park Leisure Centre. They met Second Division Loughborough in the Cup and went down three-nil. The superior play of the University-based side was just too much for the local lasses.