Into the business end of the season now and, here is the roundup of results throughout February for PMVC’s Teams –

PMVC Jesters – Jesters have gone through a big reshuffle since the New Year and with it a new team ethos of inclusion, focusing on enjoying our remaining games and working on individual and team development in preparation for next season.

Only the one game this month for the Jesters which was against the defending champions and current League Leaders, Storm Excoll. Storm are unbeaten so far this season and the result was as expected with Storm winning the game 5-0. All the new players had fantastic debuts linking in with the new found team ethos perfectly - For sets 1, 3 and 5 PMVC were able to go toe to toe with the league leaders even taking the lead but Storm showed their experience and momentum in the League by closing the door in each set. Jesters were unlucky not to at least get a set off the visiting team. Sam Crompton picked up the MVP for Jesters with his dominance at the net with some high quality quick attacks.

Jesters are now bottom of the League Table and will be fighting for survival in Division 1 in their closing games. In March, there are 4 games for them to play including the home derby against Pocket Rockets on the 18th March and they must win at least 2 of those games to ensure they avoid the drop.

PMVC PocketRockets – The Rockets had 2 games this month – They faced Storm Excoll on 13th February and despite losing the first 4 sets, they managed to get a consolation prize in winning the 5th Set. Matt Rhymer was nominated as MVP for the match. Their second match was against Kirton on the 23rd February and after losing the first set, they were unlucky not to level things up in the 2nd set having been 23-20 up before finally losing the set 31-29. Kirton sealed the game by winning set 3 with the momentum from the 2nd before Pocketrockets again got a consolation prize by winning the 4th set. The 5th  set saw Pocket Rockets unable to get a strong foothold and ended up losing the match 4-1. Liene Knupke won MVP for the 3rd time this season.

Pocket Rockets stay in 5th iposition in the table despite losing both games this month. They complete their season in March with their last 4 games. Their Div 1 status is all but secure but they will want to finish strongly and see if they can get back into the top half of the table and of course, they have the PMVC Derby to look forward to.

 SW Ladies – with no League games for the Ladies in February, their only activity was in the National Shield. After much negotiation and rearrangements of other commitments, the 22nd February saw PMVC face Bristol 2 in the Quarter Finals. As the only non National League Team left in the competition, PMVC carried an underdog status going into the match and Bristol 2 are mid table in National League Division 3 South and are a well drilled and established squad.

Both Teams didn’t play their best volleyball to be fair but PMVC didn’t disappoint in turning the screw when it mattered. The first set was won 27-25 before the second set saw the Ladies assert their dominance by winning 25-14. The 3rd set was again close as Bristol 2 refused to roll over but PMVC maintained their winning ways sealing the set 29-27 and the game 3-0.

Their Semi Final opponents in waiting are Tendring VC. And the fixture is to be played on 1st March in Frinton on Sea, Essex.

In the rest of March, PMVC Ladies will have 4 SW league games. Currently they are 3rd in the league but only due to ABS and Exeter University having both played more games than them. If they win against ABS and Bristol in Barnstaple on 9th March and they beat both Cardiff teams on 23rd March, they can win the league with 2 games to spare. I’m sure that their coach will want to continue smelling that sweet smell of victory and they will want to remain unbeaten this season in the League. Who knows they may look to take home even more silverware in the National Shield and SW Championships too.

SW Men – The men had 4 games in the SW League this month. First was another home fixture on 2nd February against two sides (City of Bristol and Exeter University) with very high quality squads but both having inconsistent performances in the league. With some of PMVC’s main squad not available, Jesters players Dan Tapson and Luke Allen Gdanitz stepped up with ease and strengthened the squad options. City of Bristol were fielding some of their National League Division 1 players and despite their powerful hitting, PMVC held their own narrowly losing both the first and 2nd sets by 25-23 and 25-21 respectively. Against the odds and momentum from Bristol PMVC eked out the 3rd set and winning 25-22. In the 4th Set, despite fighting all the way until the end, Bristols Vlad Musalimovs singled handedly dominated PMVC and jump served his side into an unassailable lead. They won the set 25-14 and the game 3-1. Stef Shageer won MVP for PMVC.  They then face Exeter Uni who had beaten them 3-0 earlier in the season. Exeter comfortably won the first set 25-20. Then in the 2nd PMVC sneaked over the line with a 26-24 set win and started to show the spark that has seen them competing for the top spot in the league table all season. The energy levels started to drop for both teams but with Exeter making a glut of mistakes on service and PMVC showing steady hands and steady nerves, they eventually won the 3rd and 4th sets by 25-21 and 25-20 with Dan Tapson deservedly winning his first SW League MVP nomination in the process.

The next fixture was on 16th February in Truro against Academy of Beach Sports and Kernow Maw. Sadly, ABS forfeited the match as they were unable to field a team so the match became a single header. Kernow Maw have improved their performances as the season has progressed and provided another stern test for PMVC. The men won the first set 25-21 and then Maw levelled the game by taking the 2nd set 25-19. However, with the Watering Hole at Perranporth Beach calling them, PMVC made light work of the 3rd and 4th sets and won 25-22 and 25-21 and with that, the game 3-1. Tibo Daigne won his 5th MVP nomination of the season.

With their 3 victories, PMVC Men are top of the league table but have played more games than Kernow and Lydney who can catch them up. They complete their season on 16th March with their final two games against Lydney Lynx and Wilthshire Mavericks in Monmouth. If they win both games, they can guarantee a top 4 finish. Could they end up winning the league? It depends on other results and for Kernow and Lydney to have some misfortune against some of the weaker teams.

Plymouth Local Volleyball League – Diggin It have had a flurry of activity in February having played Team GWOF and Plym Uni B team. They lost both games but are really enjoying their volleyball.

There was a local league takeover on 13th February with Diggin it, Tigers and Heads Heroes/ The allstars playing each other in place of a standard training session. Tigers are continuing their progression and are now incorporating front court switching into their games. They lost 2-0 to both Diggin It and The Allstars. Diggin It won one set but lost the other against The Allstars and The allstars won the fixture overall by a better points difference.

March is likely to be a bit quiet as a lot of the teams have lots to contend with with Development Tournaments and Varsity taking up a lot of their attention. However, I hope to see a flurry of matches towards the end of March if the teams are to reach their quota of game played in the season. Keep it up guys!