(18/11/2001)
Riga anticipated another tough match against last season’s National Shield winners, Salford, who had beaten the home team twice last year. Salford arrived at Warwick having lost only 1 game so far.
Tom Young had psyched his team up well and from the start Riga took no prisoners. Everything came together with superb all round performances, particularly from back court specialist, Lynette Purkis and setter, Liz Young. Salford’s hitters soon bottled it when block after block stifled their attack - Dawn Woolmer and Michelle Peryer were all over the Bristol attack. Although Salford picked up some amazing balls this didn’t deter the Riga hitters, as they pounded every set finding every part of the court. Marinella Cadoni and Sarah Pochin were so impressive for Riga that Salford just didn’t have an answer. Jayne Warman, outside hitter, played some excellent back court attacks and played a big part in defence. The ball distribution from setter, Young, was key in keeping Salford guessing throughout.
Riga didn’t sit back and upped the level from set to set finishing the opposition off in just over a hour.
A shell shocked Salford endured a 30 minute dressing down from their coach after the game whilst Riga rejoiced in their best performance ever. Coach Tom Young was delighted “I haven’t got a negative word to say about today, the girls were fantastic and the level of Volleyball superb - if we keep this up we’ll be hard to beat”. Rachael McCarthy, team captain, said “it was a real team performance which demonstrated the depth of ability and commitment in the squad”.