(26/02/2001)
With the Women recording back-to-back victories in Division Two over the weekend and the Men achieving their first-ever win over Stoke in Division One on Saturday, Warwick Riga’s National League sides got their season back together after some recent blips in their progress. The Men in particular are now on track for their highest ever finish in National League Division One, with Stoke, sitting in fourth place, looking anxiously over their shoulders.
The Women put their disappointment over last weekend’s showing behind them to post consecutive three-one victories over promotion candidates Cambridge and Dulwich at the St. Nicholas Park Leisure Centre, Warwick. Saturday’s match over second-placed Cambridge saw the girls fight back from a set down to clinch the game in impressive style. Dawn Woolmer was particularly effective for Riga. She continued in that vein on Sunday as Warwick outplayed fourth-placed Dulwich. Captain Rachel McCarthy, the star of that day’s game said, "We know there are few teams that we can’t beat in this Division and this weekend has proved it. We had to bounce back after Sussex, and we did - with interest."
The Men travelled north with a squad ravaged by injury, suspension and other commitments which made the side’s first-ever victory over Stoke in Division One all the more glorious. Without the likes of Tom Spijkers, David Nason, Vincent Joubert and the suspended captain Tom Young, Riga gave full debuts to Cees de Hoogh and Tim Bugg and neither player let the side down. Indeed it was two successive finishes from Bugg that took Warwick into a determining 14 - 11 lead in the first set. With captain-for-the-day John Gilling leading by example and Stoke old boy Dan Showler showing no kindness to his ex-comrades, Riga ran home winners 25 - 18.
Nip followed tuck in the second set as a stung Stoke rallied to their cause. At 18 each, the set was anyone’s. Then under pressure serving from Stoke’s Paul Conlon, Riga’s reception faltered and Stoke achieved the break they were after. Closure at 25 - 20 soon followed. Set three had Warwick in the lead from the off. Try as Stoke would they were always second best in the subsequent game of catch-up. As de Hoogh now caught the flow of the game and Richard Meade showed what an excellent blocker he is, Stoke were finished 25 - 22. The fourth set was a mirror image of the third with Stoke calling the shots from the start. De Hoogh and Gilling seemed the only Warwick players capable of scoring points. To little surprise to the crowd, Stoke squared the match with a 25 - 17 win.
Riga quickly established a lead in the deciding fifth set as Showler, Bugg, Gilling and de Hoogh all garnered points to the dismay of Stoke. De Hoogh made sure Warwick turned round 8 - 4 up, and then from his serving Meade and Phil Wyles repeatedly blocked out the Stoke attack to give the visitors an impressive 12 - 6 advantage. With Stoke now giving points away for free, Meade popped up with a service ace to end any hope of a Stoke revival, 15 - 7. "That was fantastic!" said a happy Gilling after the game. "It was a real team performance with everyone pulling together, including Mark Fearn, our unsung hero. We’re definitely after fourth place now."