Tees Valley Volleyball Association
General Information:
Tees Valley have four teams competing within the National League and Cup. Haughton Men are in their 2nd consecutive season in Div 3 North, Haughton Women start their first season in Div 3 Central, North Riding Eagles Women are also in Div 3 North, where Marske men and women make their debut in the National Cup this season! Haughton's men & women's home match venue is The Education Village, Salters Lane South, Darlington DL1 2AN (click the link for a location map). Click the links below to see how the teams are getting on!
Link to the EVA National League Homepage
Link to Mens Division 3 North
Link to Womens Division 3 North
Link to Mens and Womens National Cup draw
Sunday 2nd October
Marske Phoenix Men vs Loughborough Lions
(National Cup)
Squad: Dave Coates (C),
Dave Skipsey, Ryan Craggs, Tom Coates, Phil Gibbin, Scott Sanders,
Tom Allen.
Marske Phoenix Men 0-3 Loughborough Lions
At the time of this tie Loughborough were sitting top of the NVL Div
3 North so the men of Marske were expecting a tough game.
Despite losing in straight sets, the men of Marske played some
fantastic volleyball and matched Loughborough for large periods of
the match.
The final scores were: 25-15 25-17 25-20 to the Lions. The scores
were better than expected and Marske walked off a proud team,
playing in a side that aren’t used to playing together and several
players playing out of their usual positions and against a strong side.
Now Marske have to wait and see who they will draw in the 1st round
of the Sheild.
Sunday 2nd October
Haughton Darlington vs Northampton Sparks
& York VC
Squad: Graham Metcalfe
(C), Scott Hailes, Gary Day, Tom Gordon, Jonny Willis, Damien Reed,
Sam Morgan, Adam Randolph, Kevin Burks (L).
Haughton Darlington 2-3 Northampton Sparks
Northampton Sparks travelled to Haughton knowing that they
lost here last year. Haughton were in good spirit after taking a win
2 weeks ago, and having the advantage of home soil, looked strong in
the warm-up, with Northampton arriving slightly late. A Haughton
team in the absence of Jack Butcher were relying on Damien Reed to
provide the goods today. Haughton got off to an excellent start, and
took the first two sets with good displays from all players.
Northampton then up'd their game slightly and took the 3rd set
25-19. It didn't look like Haughton would lose this game, however
they went down to a hard battle to make the score 2-2. A shaky start
in the tie break saw Haughton 4-0 down but the belief was still
there! They closed the gap but eventually lost the game 3-2. A game
to reflect on as it should really have been won 3-0. MVP went to Tom
Gordon.
Haughton Darlington 3-0 York VC
Similar to 2 weeks ago, Haughton had to play their 2nd game
of the day knowing that they should have won the first! Spirits were
still high, however York had just beaten Northampton so signs
suggested this game could be a little tougher. Jonny Willis believed
that a mid-day 'coaching session' for Damien Reed would improve the
outcome. His setting certainly improved and Haughton took the first
set comfortably with some excellent hitting from Scott Hailes and
Jonny Willis. The 2nd set didn't start too well for Haughton who
found themselves 8-2 and eventually 16-7 down. Some inspired service
pressure from Gary Day and Graham Metcalfe saw Haughton claw their
way back into this game. Eventually Scott Hailes served down the
line to see the setter catch the ball as it hit him to take the 2nd
set!! Haughton had been in this position before today, and would not
let it slip again. An all round team performance with a special
mention to Sam Morgan for some awesome attacks wrapped up the 3rd
set, and a 3-0 win for Haughton. MVP went to Tom Gordon again (who
is this guy?!) The men now sit 2nd in the league table after 4
games, and play top of the league Loughborough Lions next!!
Saturday 17th September (M3N)
Haughton Darlington vs Wigan Seahawks & South Birmingham
Squad:
Graham Metcalfe (C), Scott Hailes, Gary
Day, Tom Gordon, Jonny Willis, Damien Reed, Jack Butcher, Sam
Morgan, Adam Randolph, Kevin Burks (L).
Haughton Darlington 1-3 Wigan
Seahawks
These two teams had close battles
last year with Wigan coming on top 2-1 so this was always going to
be a close match. A Haughton squad with plenty of options, included
debutants Sam Morgan and Tom Gordon, and Gary Day returning for this
season, believed they had every chance of getting off to a winning
start! However Wigan had a couple of new players and ended up taking
the first two sets. Haughton then brought one back but it didn't
prove to be enough as Wigan came out on top to win 3-1. MVP went to
Tom Gordon on his debut!
Haughton Darlington 3-1 South Birmingham
After the defeat to Wigan, morale was still high within the
team after a good performance. Not knowing what to expect from the
new National League team SBVC, Haughton started very well, taking
the first set with a comfortable display. The 2nd set was a whole
different game - SBVC had now warmed up and got to grips with what
was expected from Haughton, and boasting a tall squad, lined up some
crucial blocks to take the 2nd set. Haughton then up'd their game to
take the match 3-1, and their first win of the season! MVP went to
Scott Hailes.
2008/9 Season
Squad: Nikki Attah (C), Nunthorpe VC; Vicky Archard, Nunthorpe VC; Laura Cave, Haughton VC; Emma Gordon, Nunthorpe VC; Gemma Ithurralde, Haughton VC; Kirsty Martin, Nunthorpe VC; Rachael McManus, Nunthorpe VC; Rachel Moody, Haughton VC; Sarah Naylor, Nunthorpe VC; Laura Pearson, Haughton VC; Lauren Sweeting, Haughton VC; Lydia Sweeting, Haughton VC.
Links to associated volleyball clubs: Haughton VC; Nunthorpe VC
The season ended on a high on 29th April with a 3-1 win against Sheffield. This saw the team secure fifth place in the leagues, equal on points to fourth placed Newcastle (Staffs) but just behind on sets difference. An improvement in league position of two places from last year. Also to celebrate, Most Valuable Player Award went to Nikki Attah, the team captain. Thanks once again to coaches Jackson Sweeting & Dave McManus for their efforts throughout the year and to the team for giving us some great volleyball to watch.
Results tables reproduced from the Volleyball England website
The Tees Valley National League
women's squad reformed for the 2007/8 season. The team consists of
players
from across the Tees Valley and is being coached by Jackson Sweeting
(Haughton). As a new and very young team with many players aged
14-16, the expectation was that this would be a development year for
the team, yet with three matches played, the team has notched up
three wins! Whilst this performance is unlikely to be sustained for
the entire season, the message is clear, this team means business!
Jackson Sweeting & Dave McManus took the team to the North West for
their first away fixtures on 21st October 2007 - Jackson reported on
the team's progress to-date - The Teesvalley team
travelled to their first away matches of the season to play Chester and Wirral.
This is a development squad with the youngest players at 14 years old and the
oldest just 26. Having won the first fixture at home to Loughborough University
2 weeks ago, travelling to Chester was a new experience for these young girls.
The team had already lost their first setter, Lauren Sweeting, who underwent a
shoulder operation 2 days after the home fixture, and so had to re-organise for
the season without her. The first match against Chester went to 5 sets with the
Teesvalley girls displaying some tremendous attacks and court covering,
eventually taking the 5th set 18-16, against a much more experienced team.
The next game against Wirral looked to be a more difficult task, who again were
much more experienced and we lost the first set. Undaunted the girls picked up
their game to win the next 3 sets with some great volleyball. Winning the first
3 games is a fine start to the season and all the team worked so hard for each
other. Nikki Attah was voted the ‘most valuable player’ by the opposition in
both games. The rest of the squad is; Emma Gordon, Sarah Naylor, Lydia Sweeting,
Laura Cave, Rachel Moody, Rachael McManus, Kirsty Martin, Vicky Archard, Laura
Pearson and Jenny Little. Jackson Sweeting
2007/8 Season
A worthy 7th place was achieved by the newly formed Tees Valley NL women's team. The new team captained by Nikki Attah and consisting of many young players entered the NL with the intent of developing the players and the team and hopefully winning a few sets and possibly the odd match on the way. The 7th place and seven wins on the way far exceeded expectations. The result did not even truly reflect the potential of the team as several matches were lost by quite a small margin and could easily have gone in Tees Valley's favour. A great performance by the team and we look forward to next season. A big thank-you to coaches Jackson Sweeting and Dave McManus. Colin Gordon
Results tables reproduced from the Volleyball England website