(11/02/2001)
Riga ladies second team continued their recent good form by recording a cracking win over UEA Norwich at St Nicholas on Sunday. Riga were determined to reverse the defeat inflicted by Norwich before Xmas and for the first time this season, coach Sarah Halling had a full squad of players available. Norwich had only lost 3 games before this fixture so the victory was extra special. The match was incredibly tight with Riga winning the first 2 sets , 27 - 25 and 26 -24. The third set saw the students fight back and they took the set 25 -14. Riga made full use of their squad and made numerous substitutions in the fourth set but at 23 - 18 and then 24 - 20 down , it looked like a fifth set would beckon for Riga.
However, great team spirit, consistent serving from Ruth Gillett and excellent defensive play saw the team fight back to 25 -25. It was left to Jane Kinnis to do a superb winning block against former Bristol team mate Hannah Nicholls to clinch the set 27 - 25 for Riga.
Showing what an unpredictable game volleyball can be - UEA then beat Chelmsford 3 -2 to inflict a first defeat of the season against the Essex team and then Riga lost 3 - 0 to Chelmsford in a disappointing performance.
However, victory against Norwich was the highlight of the day, taking the team to 6 wins and 5 defeats in their first national league season. Thanks to Zano, Tim, Cameron, Ludo and David for scoring and line judging.