After a disappointing result against Leeds last week, York Men’s Volleyball firsts had a lot to prove against newly promoted Manchester 2nds. With Jonas Pollex stepping down as captain this year, his successor Chris Stent will have wanted a bright start to the season.
Stent set the tone of the match early on, striking home powerful spikes at the net that Manchester struggled to deal with. The men in purple however were more than a match for York, and both sides exhibited tremendous defensive displays early on. Jonas Pollex and Harry Pampiglione stood tall at the net and troubled the Manchester attack, however Manchester found success of their own to keep pace with York’s scoring. The set witnessed some remarkable rallying as both sides stubbornly defended and attacked expertly, however it was captain Chris Stent who stepped up and made a statement with a resounding spike with the scores at 20-20. A rare mistake from Tom Brackpool allowed Manchester to claw it back to 23-23, and in a nail-biting finale York found their way home to take the set 25-23.
The second set saw Manchester’s fortunes change. The away side troubled York with their attacks and they defended stoutly at the net, however York still appeared to be on track to win the set. A bizarre error from a Manchester player saw a loose serve beat him in the centre of the court, whilst Stent found consistency in his attacks. A problem with the rotation and formation of the Manchester squad resulted in them losing a valuable point, however York’s serving failed them drastically. With a 22-20 lead York appeared to be in the driving seat, but some poor serving resulted in points being thrown away. Manchester ended up winning 24-25, in a set that York really should have claimed.
A frustrated York side rallied in the third quarter and began to take the game to their opponents. With the score locked at 6-6, Jonas Pollex stepped up and spiked a statement through the heart of the Manchester team, followed by a succession of smashes by Stent, who found some tremendous form. Pampiglione began to shine in defence, whilst Brackpool linked up with Stent to produce a series of points that waltzed York into the lead. With their attack in full swing York were able to thunder to a 25-10 set win, which inevitably punctured the spirits of their gutsy opponents.
Stent decided to stick with the same formation going into the fourth set, and York fought their way through the Manchester resistance. A tense final set witnessed the eventual collapse of the visitors, and a deserved 25-27 victory for a York side who claimed a solid 3-1 victory overall.
After last week’s disappointment York had to step up to the plate, and they showed true grit in wiping away Manchester despite a clumsy second set. Pollex admitted the match was a real test, admitting ‘it was a lot harder than I thought but I’m really proud of the way we all stepped up and controlled the game’. Chris Stent, York Captain and Vision’s ‘Man of the Match’ stated ‘I’m really proud of our performance today. We’ve showed that we can come back from a slump in form and today we were fantastic all round. The serving in the second set let us down, but we came back and overall it was a great effort’. The new captain has certainly proved his worth, and his display has no doubt punctuated the fact that the Stent era is now firmly under way.