Declan McCarthy reports from the Sports Dock on an impressive opening win for the new-look side
The University of East London Men’s volleyball team made a bright start to the season as they beat fellow Londoners, University City of London 3-1.
UCL provided a tough challenge for the hosts, and the visitors sought to exploit any inexperience in the UEL ranks.
However, UEL soon stormed into a two-nil lead, before UCL pulled one back. UEL came out strong in the end, finishing the game off and making sure of a deserved victory, leaving new coach Simon Loftus pleased with the display.
“It was encouraging for our first game,” said Loftus. “We are a brand new team, with five or six first years playing in the first team.”
“We’re still trying to understand what each one of us can do. The pre-season was short, so for that to be our first game it was ok.”
Tough
UEL had started the meeting brightly and established a healthy eight point advantage in the first game, but UEL hit back in some style.
The home side won the set 25-21, with Daniel Schmidtke taking centre stage and scoring the winning point.
The second set followed suit in its initial stages. UCL went ahead early on, with UEL keeping in close contention.
It was tough and hard-fought, with poor defensive decision-making giving UCL the opportunity to get a strong foot in the match, as they took the set 27-26.
In the final set, UEL were much stronger defensively. Gervaise Bynoe showed his talents and his teammates fed off his performance.
Stronger
Bynoe, the smallest player on the court made the team look better, stronger and more decisive when making decisions on the court, which gave the opportunity for the attackers to get into rhythm and rack up the points.
UEL sailed ahead in the fourth quarter and secured the fourth set and the match.
It was a brilliant display from Bynoe, whose defensive attributes helped rally UEL in the intense stages of each sets.
In attack the Miles and Schmidtke were strong and overall it all paid off for UEL, as they secured three points.
Next up for UEL is a trip to Devon to face Exeter this Wednesday.