THE time is nigh for Jersey Volleyball Association this weekend, as both the men’s and women’s teams travel to Dorking to compete in the South East Volleyball Association finals.
The JVA has enjoyed an extraordinary inaugural season in the Hampshire Volleyball Association league, as both sides stormed to title wins, the women’s team finishing the campaign undefeated.
Those titles earned the pair qualification for the SEVA finals, where they will battle it out as one of ten clubs from the region to be crowned SEVA champions.
Women’s coach and men’s player, Edouard Parslow, said: “It’s crazy that it’s actually here now, I can’t quite believe it.
“We would never have believed we’d be here at the start of the season.
“For so long, we have had such little opportunity to test ourselves and see where we are ability wise.
“But since that first weekend away in Hampshire, we have surprised ourselves and everyone in the league.”
The men completed the Group A season with eight wins and one defeat from nine fixtures.
They were mid-table in points scored, but comfortably boasted the best defensive record.
The Guernsey men also progressed from Group B with eight wins from eight.
Not to be outdone, the Jersey women dropped just one set en route to their invincible season, finishing both second in points and defensively.
The Caesareans comfortably beat rivals Guernsey, despite the latter having competed in the league for a number of years.
Parslow continued: “It’s been an amazing journey so far.
“We have proved to the league, but most importantly ourselves, that we deserve to be at this level.
“We have worked so hard to keep this club afloat through the pandemic and beyond. Now we have an opportunity to compete at a really high level and create some amazing memories for the club.
“Win, lose or draw this weekend, we can all be so proud of our efforts.
“We have had so much fun and have solidified our already amazing team spirit.
“We will enjoy this weekend regardless. We are providing a pathway for future players to aspire to, which is the main priority.
“If we can use this weekend, across both teams, to our advantage moving forwards, that will be a success for us no matter the outcome.”
The women are in action on Saturday, with the men on Sunday, which will see the ten competing clubs split into two groups.
They will enter a round-robin style group stage, where each team’s points difference will prove pivotal.
Representing Hampshire alongside Winchester, the Jersey women will face Spelthorne Sharks and Epsom Ladies (Surrey), Worthing Demons and East Grinstead (Sussex), Dartford and Tonbridge (Kent) and Farnborough Phoenix and Oxford Flamingos (Berkshire).
Meanwhile, the men will square off with Channel Island rivals Guernsey as the Hampshire representatives, while Guildford and Mole Valley (Surrey), Brighton Jaguars and Worthing (Sussex), Dartford and Team Medway (Kent) and Oxford and Maidenhead (Berkshire) make up the remainder of the teams.
The top two from each group progress to the semi-final stage, in which the overall victors from each group will contest the overall final.
Jersey Volleyball Association SEVA Finals
Men’s Squad: Chris De Rue (c), Edouard Parslow, Riki Spriggs, Jack Messervy, Jamie Allen, Oren Le Marquand, Ciaran Westgate, Patryk Lalka
Women’s Squad: Nicola Appleton (c), Anna Rowsell, Tendai Mupundu, Jessica Cadiou, Izabela Gawlicka, Andreea Gabriela, Bénédicte Guinard, Micaela Camara
