Volleyball Association of Ireland

Cork Mixed Recreational League 2008

Standings after Day 5:

Day 5 Results:

Cork Mixed Volleyball League Day 5 Report

Last Saturday saw an exciting conclusion to the Cork Mixed Volleyball League hosted by CIT Volleyball Club in Bishopstown. Nine teams had battled it out over the course of the league which commenced in January for league honours. Made in Europe from Waterford, baring a huge upset, had secured the top position going into the last day of action. However second place was still to be decided and many teams were hoping to improve their league position with some strong performances on the final day of play.

Bishopstown came into the final day in second position overall however they had some work to do to maintain this with Youghal hot on their heels and still in contention for a second placed finishing. One of the first matches of the day pitted Youghal against Bishopstown a must win game for both teams. Youghal made the better start taking the first set 25-18 and looked to have rattled the Bishopstown side. Bishopstown dug deep in the second set and matched Youghal point for point through the early stages of the set. More consistent play from Bishopstown was enough to see them through the set and take it 25-21. Both teams had to be content with sharing the points and had to await the outcome of later matches to decide their final placing.

Youghal's next opponents were the Grasshoppers who went into the day in 6th position overall. Youghal were comfortable favourites going into this game however they weren’t going to have it all their own way. Youghal won the first set 25-20 but dropped the second set 25-23 to Grasshoppers a crucial loss of points that would turn out to deny them a chance of finishing in second position. Youghal defeated CIT 2-0 however despite a good performance they had left it too late in their challenge for second place and finished the league in a very respectable 3rd.

Bishopstown’s remaining opponents of the day were UCC, where they recorded 2 sets to 0 win, and Made in Europe the all but crowned league champions. This turned into an enthralling game. Bishopstown were the only team to take a set from the Waterford team throughout the league and certainly started the game intent on a victory. Some excellent blocking and defensive play by Bishopstown secured them the first set on a very close score line of 25-23. Made in Europe came out with all guns blazing in the second set. They upped the tempo and after some incredible serving they began to pull away half way through the set to take the second set 25-17. Both teams shared the points and Bishopstown I’m sure were delighted to take another set from Made in Europe and deny them a perfect record in the league.

Lower down in the table the battle was on to secure more points and improve final league positions. Rebels had a good day recording straight set victories over UCC and VBAK. They put in a very solid performance against Made in Europe however the Waterford team prevailed. Rebels finished the league in 5th place overall. League hosts CIT also finished strongly with wins over UCC and Waterford team Deise Tigers and took 4th place overall. VBAK last years champions had strong opposition on their final day. They pushed Made in Europe all the way in their game and will be happy with their performance despite being on the wrong side of the 2- 0 score line in favour of Made in Europe. Their last game of the day was against Deise Tigers which was another exciting and closely contested game.  VBAK just had the edge and took the first set 25-20 and the second 25-17 to finish in 7th place overall one position above the Deise Tigers who finished in 8th.

Made in Europe are the new League Champions and deserving champions too. They put in a near perfect performance throughout the competition dropping just two sets over the entire league to runners up Bishopstown. Congratulations to all the participating teams who hugely contributed to the success of the league and provided many entertaining and competitive matches throughout the contest. We look forward to welcoming all these teams back next season and indeed some new contenders for the 08/09 mixed league.