Things got off to a slow start in Bath, very slow. Everyone turned up in sunny Bath around 10:30 for a 11 o'clock warm-up and after squeezing their cars into quite possibly the smallest car park in the world, found out that there had been a "slight error" in the booking of the hall, it was only booked from 11:30! This gave the ladies time to have a quick gossip and cuppa in the cafe and everyone was raring to go at 11:30 but by the time the net was up and everything was in place it was pushing 12 o'clock before the warm-up started!
Luckily though this extra little break saw the usual traveling set cobwebs blown out early and Riga made a very positive start. Going 3:0 up was a welcomed but unusual start for Riga. Some very good defensive play from the team and some fantastic serving from Jayne & Anna saw Riga storming off to a 13:5 lead. Mavericks tried to get themselves back into the game but Riga were too strong and continued their dominance to a 25:13 victory in a tidy 19 minutes.
Sadly I can't comment on the second set as I nipped out to get some lunch, so after dodging a group of foreign exchange students all taking photo's of the river and side stepping the big issue seller outside the shopping centre, I eventually returned to Bath Sports Centre Waitrose bag in hand, expecting to find the ladies 2:0 up after such a storming first set. Instead I find them having lost the second set & at 8 all in the third!! My return (well I like to think it was that!) saw Riga start to pull away a little with some great defensive play by all, combined with some great hitting and blocking through the middle by Ellie. At 16:12 Thomasz brought Clare on to set, giving Ginny a well deserved break, Riga continued their dominance from the first set and eventually wrapped things up 25:15.
Thomasz brought on Katcha for the 4th set to replace Netty who had been doing a sterling job through opposite. Riga, who started serving, managed to grab a couple of points and it looked like the last set was going to go the same way as the 1st & 3rd but Wiltshire Mavericks had other idea's. This was the Mavericks team's first season in NVL having decided to make the jump up from local league and they showed some great grit and determination and soon it was obvious that they weren't going to let this match go without a fight. It was pretty much point for point through the entire set with Riga managing to stretch out a 1 point lead at 20:19. This was soon wiped out by Mavericks who continued attacking well but Riga dug deep and some great finishing from Anna through the middle saw Riga win the set 25:23, the match 3:1 and Anna taking the MVP.
Next up it was Oxfords Students and in contrast to Mavericks they were demoted from Division 2 last season, this was going to be a very different game and Riga would need to be at the top of the game to get a second result.
Clare started off the match serving for Riga and through a continued display by the whole team of very controlled and dominating volleyball, by the time Clare came back round to serve for the second time Riga were 18:9 up and firmly in the driving seat. Oxford Students weren't in Division 2 last season for nothing and they started to claw their way back into the game and a run of 5 serves saw them almost get back into things but it was too late and Riga's erly lead was enough and they served out the set 25:18.
The second set saw an unchanged Riga line up but the script for the set looked like it was going to be a little different to the first, with Oxford taking an early 5:1 lead. But Riga were calm and collected and gradually brought themselves back into the set with some fantastic blocks and attacks from Penny, playing out of position through the middle and Anna destroying the Oxford defense through 4. The new line up seemed to be working at the back as well, with the Riga receipt of serve under great control allowing Clare to distribute the sets very effectively. Everything was going well until Thomasz made a double substitution and I don't really know what went wrong but between the officials and scorers everybody got in a right mess that resulted in Ginny loosing her serve only to be called back to the service line a second time resulting in her serving twice in a row! A few points later Ellie suddenly had to swap from 4 to 1! The ref's spent much time talking to both captains and the net result seemed to be in Riga's favor so nobody argued!! After this slight hiccup that Oxford used to show off their array of chants, Riga continued to head towards the finishing line and managed to sneak a 3 point lead thanks to Ellie's serve. Riga took the set after 29 minutes 25:22.
The third set started and Riga found themselves in a unfamiliar position for this season, one win under their belt & 2:0 up in this match - were the crowd about to see another 5 set thriller??! Clare, who started off serving, had other idea's taking Riga to an early 3:0 lead from the service line and Riga continued to dominate the set with Clare distributing sets to four for Jayne & Anna to kill with military precession. Penny was still doing a great job through the middle along with Ellie and Oxford found themselves 14:5 down they knew they had to do something. They made a double substitution which seemed to do the trick when number 12 took 4 points off her first run of serves. Maybe it was nerves on the verge of a double victory or maybe it was the tired limbs or perhaps the smell of the sandwich's/ cakes on the side line but the Riga passing started to wobble shall we say. With the crowd on the edge of their seats Riga managed to dig deep, sorry no pun intended! Thomasz made the final substitution of the day at 24:20 seeing Clare taken off for Ginny and Riga took the set 25:21. Despite not being on court for the final whistle Clare had already done enough in Oxford's eyes and was given the MVP - well done!!
So against all the odds and with nobody more astonished than themselves Riga found themselves going home with two wins, does this see the dawn of a new era for Riga?? We shall see next weekend when the squad travels all the way to Norwich!!
