SW Championships Report
Posted by on 20 May 2015
This weekend saw the 45th Annual SW volleyball championships take place at the YMCA Kitto Centre. With over 200 volleyball athletes, support staff and officials the tournament was declared a resounding success with the standard of volleyball the highest it has ever been.
Representation from the host city were Plymouth Mayflower VC Men who play in the SW Premier League & National Cup and PMVC Ladies who have just been confirmed their entry to National League Division 3 for the forthcoming season and are reigning champions from last years Championships, as well as Plymouth Ladies VC who play in National League Division 2.
Volleyball is often thought of as a relatively timid sport at a recreational level but there was no sign of it here with an electric atmosphere that left spectators ears ringing with the consistent chanting and cheering both on and off the court. PMVC and Plymouth Ladies who have been building a friendly rivalry over the last few years provided one of the loudest encounters in the group stages. PMVC who are fast becoming a powerhouse of junior volleyball in the SW last played against their city rivals in the semi finals last year having beaten them by one point in the semi finals. This year saw both sides fighting to be called the best team in Plymouth didn't disappoint with another close finish. Despite PVC's calibre in the National League, it was PMVC who were again fielding the youngest team of the championships for the second year running, that came out on top, winning 30-28. Despite the derby win, PVC finished in 6th place with PMVC in 8th and unable to defend their title into the knockout phase of the tournament.
PMVC Head Coach, Steve Allen was still proud of his teams performance: "it's a great feeling to win against a rival team. Our team have gone through a transition since the success of last season but considering their age they have shown amazing mental strength and spirit by the way they played this weekend. They played like a National League team and made a lot of heads turn against other NVL teams. We can't wait until next season to begin our National League journey".
PMVC men also enjoyed success early in the tournament but the standard was a cut above with 10 National League teams clawing for a top 6 finish to progress. PMVC finished top of the non NVL teams in 11th.
From the first whistle to the last, all of the teams provided thrilling entertainment and sporting excellence with City of Bristol Men beating Devizes in the Men's Final with both teams having to make it through the playoffs and semi finals after finishing 5th and 6th in the group stages. Bristol Ladies as the highest ranked team, took top honours in a scintillating ladies final against Torexe with the deciding set going right to the wire.
PMVC founder and event coordinator Andrew Potter was overjoyed by another successful tournament held in Plymouth: "this is the 12th year in a row that the SW Champs have been held in Plymouth and there are no signs of it moving away anytime soon due to the continued progress of the event, not just in terms of the standard in play but the welcome the teams receive by Plymouth. It's not just the flagship event for The region it's also one of the biggest social events too. It's always great to welcome our friends from the SW volleyball community back each year as well as making some new friends too."
Regarding PMVC's future, he had this to say "when we set up the club 6 years ago, our focus was on developing grass roots volleyball and providing talent pathways for all to take their involvement in the game as far as they can whether as a player, coach, official or volunteer. The secret to our success is keeping volleyball vibrant, visible and viable to the Local community.
In such a short time we have achieved so much in developing the game in South Devon with our club now 60 families strong this season with over half of the membership being under 18. There are some great new developments coming up that we are extremely excited about. One thing is for sure, we are already looking forward to coming back stronger next year for the SW Championships"
