York secured a dominant victory against league leaders Sheffield over a relatively comfortable three sets, leaving them in clear second place in the table and still in contention for the title.
The first set began as a relatively cagey affair, with an enthusiastically-supported York side racing into an early lead before being pegged back by Sheffield leaving both teams locked at 9-9. The two sides were relatively evenly matched and played out some scintillatingly long rallies.
Even in these early stages it appeared that York were the stronger of the two sides, almost always coming out on top of the long rallies and being harder to open up defensively that the Sheffield side. Throughout the set York appeared to be in control, something that the scoreline did not at first recognise.
However, as the set continued this did begin to show as York began to pull away from Sheffield, racing away to take the first set 25-15 exhibiting superiority in all areas, especially in terms of defence and the power of their shot making.
The second set reverted back to being a close, cagey affair with Sheffield moving out to a 4-1 lead before being pegged back by York. Both sides remained close to each other throughout the set and it was often individual moments of excellence that made the difference between the two sides. York’s powerful service was exceptional with Christina Sechel scoring two consecutive aces moving York out to a 14-9 lead, from then on in the momentum of the set was clearly with York.
York’s power began to show with stunning winners from Jitka Jizerova and Selena Yeung , making mincemeat of the Sheffield defence. Jizerova in particular was excellent often proving the source of York’s winners. Once in the lead York never looked like losing it, taking the second set 25-19.
In the third, York raced into an early 4-1 lead, an advantage which they managed to maintain throughout the set. York were superior in all areas, especially on the power of their serve, their dominance in the rallies and their resoluteness in defence with Libero Joanne Lee proving the sides rock of stability. Selena Yeung also notably produced a number of stunning winners as York began to stretch their legs, racing away with the set as Sheffield began to make some easy misses and lacklustre serves, perhaps as a result of them having no substitutes to bring on.
Sheffield eventually steadied the ship and began to narrow the deficit near the end of the set, getting within four points of York. However, York stayed resolute and two excellent winners from Sechel steadied the nerves and put the tie beyond doubt with York winning the 3rd set 25-18 and thus the match.
Captain Katharina Widerhofer was ecstatic with the performance: “I am very proud of my team, to beat Sheffield, the best team in the league largely with a largely different six is amazing and it shows our strength and adaptability”.