In the quarter finals of the Cup, Riga (curently ranked number 2 in the league), faced Wessex Team Bath (currently ranked number 1). This fixture clash was sure to bring about a great game.

Riga arrived Bath very early for the 5:30 warm up they’d been told, however when they arrived in the gym at 5, was told warm up had already started and the match would start soon.  This administrative error meant the team only had3 minutes before going over the net. This clearly disrupted Riga’s preparation for the match and the team looked slightly shell shocked when the game began. 

As a result the first set flew by as the Riga girls tried to get in their stride.  Alex Smith got the first few sets due to the passes not quite being on the money yet.  Smith killed the first few balls.    The passing unit succeeded in putting up excellent passes considering the standard of serve coming over the net; however the hitters were still only warming up.  There was a run of three consecutive points where Lisa Purcell set Smith, then Haederli, then Julia Werdich and all three hits went miles out of the court.  There were some good pick ups in defence by Julie Bromell, Haederli and Smith in the first set, a stuff block from Smith and a few good serves from Haederli, but the serious damage was already done due to all the unforced errors and Wessex walked to a 25-15 victory without really needing to do much.

At the change of ends, tempers began to get frayed and the self destruct button seemed to be located and strongly pushed.  Despite this, and the feeling on court that we must be being demolished, Riga actually traded side outs very closely with Wessex.  The passing unit continued to pass incredibly well, Bromell, Haederli and Werdich all giving excellent balls to Purcell.  Unfortunately, the block was not as effective as the team hoped and was giving Lucy Boulton too much space cross court to swing at.  Bromell and Werdich, who are usually excellent defenders, struggled to pick up many balls and Wessex seemed to be able to kill the ball with every touch.  There was some confusion among Riga and Wessex seized on this break down and closed the set quickly, 25-20.

At the change of ends Smith was subbed off giving Anna Meister the right side slot and Chloe Walkingshaw replaced Werdich on the left side in an attempt to change something and boost the team somehow.

With renewed cheering from the bench from Smith, Werdich and Sophie Louen, the team managed to hold together a bit better and traded side outs.  Walkingshaw and Haederli got a few good kills and Laetsch received a run of sets and killed the ball with ease on each set.  Meister got a few excellent pick ups and served a couple of good balls and the score was level all the way up to 14 all.  Wessex won a point taking the lead 15-14 and sending a float jump server to the base line.  At this point, the faultless passing unit suddenly crumbled and were unable to deliver a good ball in.  The team scrambled a few rallies, but were unable to side out.  Time outs didn’t help and within a matter of minutes Riga were 23-14 down.  Riga sided out and Laetsch scored a point with a good serve, but then Wessex sided out and served out the set to take it 25-16.

After playing Wessex before Christmas in what had easily been one of the best women’s matches in the country, the team was bitterly disappointed at its performance in this cup clash. The team is keen to pull together and work as a unit to ensure that the excellent season they have had so far does not go the same way as the cup dream.