When Goldridge Stone took a 5-1 lead the Jersey team knew they would have to make a real effort to come back into the game.
That effort was inspired by a superb serving bout by captain Peter Cadiou.
Following his devastating play, Astros took the lead 9-6, before Mark de Rue stamped his authority on the game by serving well enough to help his side to a five-point buffer against the Guernseymen.
Astros eventually took the game 25-21.
Now more confident in their style of play, Astros took the second game to the opposition right from the start.
Again the Cadiou serve caused all kinds of problems on each rotation.
Astros took their chances on every point and their passing was superb, with Lee Ingram forming the mainstay of the defence.
Because of the standard of passing, setter Damian Spencer had more than one option of play.
The fast ball into Stefan Gimenez was flowing well, and with Martin Maack’s fantastic swing hitting at four, the home side ran out easy winners, 25-13.
In the third set, however, Goldridge Stone fought back with neat, direct volleyball.
An improvement in their hits, which came from a much better pass, then put pressure on Astros’ blocks and cover, which made a big difference.
Setter Rodney Elmy put on extra pressure with dumped balls and deep volleys finding spaces, but the set was level until the final stages, with Goldridge taking the last four points to seal it 25-19.
After such a reversal of form, Astros were not going to allow the fourth set to be taken away from them.
They took an early lead and held it, not least through Paul Gartshore, who used his spike to win many clean points.
The mood of the team was upbeat as they won their final point, taking game, set and match 25-21 and three sets to one.
In the women’s inter-insular, nine months of training with the help of coach Peter Cadiou paid off in a big way for the Insurance Corporation Jets Ladies.
Playing Goldridge Stone – winners of this competition three times before – they won the CI title 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-20), making this only the third time since 1986 that Jersey have taken the trophy.
In the first set Ellen Carroll’s strong serve gained the team eight consecutive points, followed by a number of points gained as a result of the well-placed serving by Paula Hindley in the second set and good serving again from Sam Watts in the third.
Jets played an aggressive and smart game and the passing to Hindley produced good attacking plays, while Anita Othman and Ann Crawford hit the ball hard at every opportunity, putting Guernsey under constant pressure.
Othman revelled in her new role as outside hitter, whereas Guernsey found it hard to get anything over the net, especially as tips were covered well by Jersey at the front of the court.
Any other ball they tried to push over the net was blocked by Ann Sleight and Watts.
Sleight had a particularly good game both at the net and the back court, ensuring that any attempts by Guernsey to hit a long ball were covered.
In the under-17s’ match Guernsey took the honours 25-14, 25-15.
In the first set, initial Jersey nerves were conquered with some great serving by Aaron Dolman.
Excellent passing by Greg Banner and Matt Le Marquand enabled Natasha de Jesus to set some lovely balls out to the hitters.
More often than not, it was simple mistakes that let the team down.
After her recent arrival into the squad, India Titterington showed great resolve and retrieved the ball well.
In the second set Tom Dearie was outstanding in picking up any loose ball, but in the end Jersey couldn’t make full use of home advantage.
Insurance Corporation Volleyball League results: Mixed: Ernst and Young D’Oh 2, KBCI 0 (25-20, 25-15); Jersey Post Juniors 2, Dream Team 0 (25-0,25-0); Ladies: IC Jets 1, Best of the Rest 3 (20-25, 25-19, 17-25, 20-25); Men’s: KB Astros 3, Best of the Rest 2 (25-15, 21-25, 18-25, 25-15, 15-13).
