For the first time in Irish women’s volleyball history an Irish team took to the court in European Club competition last weekend. The Newbridge Wild Cats travelled to Portugal to compete in Pool 6 of the European Top Teams Cup competition. The Newbridge girls were up against some of volleyballs top players, taking on the professionals of Portugal, Italy and Belarus.
After a training session on Friday morning the girls took to the court at 8.30pm on Friday. They were up against previous Champions League competitors and home side Trofa. Nervousness and tension was very evident from the first play. The Wild Cats seemed to be stuck to the floor and unable to react to the fast balls. The Wild Cats lost the first set 25-6. However, during the break of sets, the girls realised that they were here not to win but to learn as much as they could against these stronger sides and went on court for the second set a little more relaxed. This attitude helped the girls and when the chance to take points appeared the Wild Cats took them. A point for point game followed up to 8-8. Then Trofa stepped up their game and the Wild Cats found the serve hard to receive. However after some good defensive play the Wild Cats got a couple more scores and they brought the score line to 25-11. The third set followed a similar pattern with the Wild Cats fighting hard for the ball and getting 10 points in the set – with Trofa taking it 25-10 and the game 3-0.
Saturday morning saw the Wild Cats up bright and early for training. Unfortunately an injury occurred to Kasia Sarnicka during training which put her out of the competition for the rest of the weekend. This meant that the Wild Cats would have to dig deep when playing the next two matches. On Saturday evening the Wild Cats took on Minsk from Belarus. With tall, strong attacking players on the opposite side of the court, many felt that the Wild Cats should have been happy to grace the court with such players – but the Irish girls kept their chins high when going onto court and made the Belarusian’s fight for every point. Newbridge started really well, not allowing the big block and attacks affect them. They got down low to retrieve the attacks and eventually managed to get some scores on the board. The Wild Cats lost the first set 12-25. The second and third set were similar to the first with the Wild Cats playing really well and getting touches on the big attacks which gave the girls a chance to get into the game. Consistent serving and clever play meant the Wild Cats got 13 points in the second set and the same again in the 3rd. Although defeated the Wild Cats were proud of their performance and happy to take so many points from Minsk.
Sunday’s match was always going to be tough for the Wild Cats with the team taking on last years champions of the competition – Novaro from Italy. With the Turkish setter Mert Bahar, Polish middle blocker Katarzyna Skowronska, Hungarian Anita Flipovic, along side some Italians and Croatians, the Wild Cats were going to play against some of the best in Europe.
The Italian team were out to prove themselves considering the upset of the tournament had happened the previous night with Trofa beating Novara 3-1. The Wild Cats were obviously anxious and nervous at the start of the game and this continued through the whole set with Novara taking the set 25-3. Although the score line suggests a walkover by the Italians the Wild Cats did create some great rallies throughout the set. The second was much better for the Wild Cats as they managed to attack a couple of balls and get them past the very tall Novara players. They also manage to retrieve the serves and some very strong attacks which made the Wild Cats more confident on court. The Italians took the set 25-9. The third set was a good set, but the Italians really showed the Wild Cats the difference between the professional and the amateur game. The Wild Cats didn’t get a chance to get into the game as the Novara side blocked and hit everything that went their way. The Wild Cats got up some great balls and some great rallies were seen throughout the set but few points came the way of the Newbridge side and the Wild Cats lost the set 25-5 and the game 3-0.
These results, to many, may look poor but the Wild Cats expectations for the weekend were not to win but to learn and perform well. Going out against some the volleyballs top players – especially against the Italian team was a great experience for the Wild Cats.
The tournament was deemed a success for the Wild Cats, as they played as good as they have ever played before. The main points taken from the weekend was the major difference between the amateur and professional game with the speed and strength of the professionals. This was a great learning experience for the Wild Cats and hopefully the team can carry some of this forward into their domestic league in the New Year!
A special word of thanks has to go to the management of the team for the weekend. Coach Tom Landers, Assistant Coach Martin O’Connor and Manager Helen McEvoy made the weekend go by smoothly without a hitch for the team. On top of this the seven supporters that travelled to support the Wild Cats throughout the competition made a massive difference to the team. To hear names, shouts and encouragement come from the crowd edged the girls through the games with smiles on their faces.
Report by Sabrina Landers (Newbridge VC) |
