Women's CEV Small Nations Senior Championship '08 - Qualificaiton Round, May 15th 2008
Report:
Squad: Gemma Garvan (Capt.), Aileen Minihan, Elke Wohlleben, Miriam Gormally, Louise McConnell, Tara Dawson, Jana Langford, Oliver Rossiter, Pamela O’Donnell, Jennifer Corrigan, Edel Nolan.
Coach: Coleen Barrett, Assistant Coach: Grainne Culliton, Team Manager: Denise Tallon
Following a two-year training regime, a new Irish squad travelled to the Faroe Islands for the Small Nations Qualifying Tournament on the 15th of May. The team were up against tough opposition from the host nation, Liechtenstein, an experienced Scottish team, and veterans to the competition, Luxembourg.
The team started a bit apprehensively against a tall and experienced Liechtenstein team, going down in 3 sets 15-25, 17- 25, 23-25. The Irish gained confidence in the third set however, as they rallied from 10-21 down. Superb blocking by middles Miriam Gormally and Elke Wohlleben (3 each), as well as serving and defence from Tara Dawson led the late comeback.
The team came out fighting the next day with great defensive play seeing them take a set off the Faroe Islands and also our closest neighbours the Scottish team. These games had several long rallies as Ireland’s defensive play – led by libero Louise McConnell and Jana Langford - made the opposition work very hard for every point. On the offensive side, Olive Rossiter tallied 11 kills vs. Faroese and 8 vs. Scotland, assisted by brilliant passing from captain Gemma Garvan.
Faroe Islands couldn’t defend the surprise attacks by setter Aileen Minihan, earning herself 8 kills. Opposite hitter Pamela O’Donnell came into the 3rd set to curb the opposition’s wing attack, and Garvan connected with her jump serve again, keeping the Faroes’ biggest hitters off the net. Gormally worked hard through the middle, tallying 3 kills late in the 3rd set. The Scotland match was very close, as the teams were well-matched, and played one another point-for-point in all sets. Strong serving by Dawson and Wohlleben kept the Scottish side under pressure. Jennifer Corrigan earned her first Senior cap and start vs. the Scottish, and had a fantastic dig in the backcourt off Scotland’s biggest attacker. The final scores in these matches were
Ireland 1-3 Faroes (21-25, 12-25, 30-28, 11-25) and
Ireland 1-3 Scotland (15-25, 22-25, 25-21, 13-25).
The final day of the competition saw the Irish team play the top team of the competition, Luxembourg. It was the best game of the tournament for the Irish who blocked and ran the middle well to compete point for point with the Luxembourg team. Setter Minihan ran her quick offense accurately, finding O’Donnell late in the 2nd set and beginning the 3rd to rally the Irish. Langford added her serve to the attack late in the 2nd when the Irish were 15-23 down and kept the side out to 20-23. Edel Nolan earned her 2nd Senior cap in this match, and added a stuff block to her stats. The combined passing and defence of Rossiter and McConnell kept the strong Luxembourg attack under control, while the Irish attackers combined for 28 kills. This match finished 12-25, 20-25; 25-23, 18-25
It was a fantastic experience for the team that travelled and who received many favourable comments from other nations regarding the structure of the Irish unit. It was particularly good to see the team build and experience this level of competition with the inclusion of both Jenny Corrigan and Edel Nolan who joined the squad from the Junior set-up, and who both have very long International careers ahead of them.
