Another spectacular weekend with 3 matches played over the course of 2 days – two National Cup games and one London League match.
Saturday started with Onyx Men playing against Shield winners Flaming Six Aces. This was a deciding match where winners would go on to play against IBB Polonia in the National Cup whereas losers would continue playing for the Shield.
First set was a slow start for Onyx. Having won the right to serve Onyx Men were making a slow progress winning only one point at a time. This was the first match for our team in both leagues, so the pace of the game was equal to a prolonged warm up which resulted in a loss of 25:23.
Second set has included more action with powerful kills from our captain John and outside hitter Lorenzo. Middle hitter Alaeldeen came on court when Onyx was 5 points ahead which lasted till the end when Onyx won 25:20.
It seemed that Flaming Six Aces were starting to relax as our setter Diego opened the third set with 5 powerful serves, forcing Aces to take a timeout at 0:4. It was a chance for Onyx’s new player and coach Valerio to join the team and show some of his “do as I say and watch me as I do” moves. This strategy was sufficient for Onyx to close the set at 25:18.
In the final set, Aces regrouped and have shown some resistance whilst trying to get the win. This has definitely pushed Onyx Men to a strong fight, but it wasn’t enough. Onyx Men have beaten the previous Shield winners Flaming Six Aces at 3 sets to 1. Now, Onyx Men will face IBB Polonia on the 10th of November and continue their fight for the championship of Volleyball England National Cup.
Speaking of the Polonia team, Onyx Women have faced the IBB Polonia ladies during the match on Sunday. This was another deciding match for continuing in the National Cup or moving to the Shield.
Another slow start for Onyx and another lost first set at very close call of 26:24 despite team’s strong determination and persistence to win.
It all paid off in the second set though where our opposite player Lina have killed the ball numerous times and the new player Keely has entered the court just to continue the legacy. This time it was Polonia’s turn to lose at 24:26 to Onyx.
Despite our setter’s – Cindy’s best sets and our captain’s – Federica’s best kills in the third and fourth sets, Onyx Women have just lost the momentum and could not recover after 8:25 and 13:25 losses.
This is not the end of the saga yet as Onyx Women have been relegated now to the Shield and will face their opponents on the 11th of November.
24 hours was ample for Onyx Men to recover after winning against Aces and come back on court on Sunday to face ULU team in an away match in the London League. With only 8 players available for the match Onyx finished the first two sets at 21:12 and 21:13. It was nice to see Onyx’ middle player Ilias finally back in action in the 2nd and 3rd sets.
Final set has proven to be more challenging as ULU made some adjustments to their line-up. Onyx Men were forced to take a timeout at 9:12 and get a shot of “come on guys, what’s happening?”. Faced with imminent trepidation our team has pulled together all the energy and completed the third set with a very close call of 23:21. Onyx Men won ULU Men 3:0.
Our next match is a home game of Onyx Yellow vs Tuskers on Sunday, 14th of October. We wish them a great game and fun!