THE Jersey men’s volleyball team dug out three wins from three against strong opposition to start their Hampshire Volleyball Association League campaign in Portsmouth on Sunday.
Coach and player Edouard Parslow was “delighted” with his team’s performance.
“I think we played really well,” the young coach said.
“With it being our first round of fixtures in this league, I thought we managed the challenge brilliantly.”
The Island side completed their first round of fixtures a week after the campaign had started, meaning their opponents were already placed in the league table from their first round the previous week.
The Hampshire league’s format awards teams one point per set won and one point per match attended, meaning Jersey received a full nine points. Each match is a best-of-three-sets affair, with each set being first to 25 points. In the case of a tied match at one set each, a tie-break set will be played first to 15 points.
In game one, Parslow’s side faced South Hants 2, who previously lost their first three matches. The Islanders made light work of their first match, settling the nerves with a dominating win in straight sets, 25-11, 25-10.
The second match saw the men in red face a tougher challenge in third place, Purbrook Park Old Boys, who won two of their first three fixtures. In a closer match, the Caesareans again prevailed in straight sets, this time 25-20, 25-22.
Game three was the toughest of the day, facing off against the league leaders from round one after three victories, SVC Academy. After losing the first set 19-25, Parslow’s men rallied excellently to take the second set 25-12. A tie break set was required, with the Jersey side running away 15-6 winners to record a 100% league start.
Coach Parslow, 23, continued: “Considering this was our first round in the league, in a completely new environment against unfamiliar opposition, I thought we were outstanding.
“We have made a real statement to the league.
“Coming in as an unknown quantity, I think we’ve really put the league on notice.
“We have learned so much from this first round, particularly how to manage our bodies when playing consecutive matches.
“We were tested in our last match against SVC Academy and we needed to work as a team.
“Myself and captain Chris Le Rue called for a time out to give the lads a chance to take a breath and work out our strategy moving forwards.
“Our togetherness as a group shone through there. For us to come back from a set down in our third game of the day against the team top of the league was extremely pleasing.
Looking ahead to their next round, Parslow said: “We have a better idea of what to expect now.
“But we also know we have shown the league that we are a team of good ability.
“We know we are going to be challenged again and we’ll have to be mentally prepared for that. But with this group we’ve got, I know we will be.”
The Jersey men’s side have to wait until 2 February for their next round, while this coming weekend will be the turn of the women’s squad.
