Victory for Girls Volleyball

On Sunday 19th February, the Volleyball Club sent a mixed team of 1st and 2nd string players to represent the University of St Andrews at the SSS Women’s Volleyball Cup in Stirling. The competition ran from 12pm – 8pm and included all teams from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd divisions of university-level volleyball in Scotland.

The day began with a round-robin tournament – each team playing two sets, to 21, against their opponents. Our first match was against Aberdeen, a team notorious for their consistent defence and endurance. Unfortunately, and a bit surprisingly, we dropped both sets to them.

Although discouraged from our loss to Aberdeen, we decided we needed to enjoy ourselves a bit more on the court and not be so fixated on whether we were winning or losing. Ironically, this sense of relaxation and fun ended up being our ‘winning attitude.’

The Saints played Edinburgh 2nds, then Stirling, and finally Strathclyde, winning each and every set. What was remarkable was that every member of the team was consistent in doing their job – Hannah Berwian was killing balls, Indre Semogas was sending out beautiful sets, Maureen MacIsaac had perfectly-timed quicks, and Annika O’Becker intelligently placed attacks.

St Andrews finished 2nd in their pool with 20 points, below Aberdeen who had 22. This meant playing the top scoring team from the other round-robin pool – this ended up being  Glasgow with a complement of really strong players. Although tired, the Saints prevailed; again, there was a strong effort across the board with Lorena Tussis ensuring the ball never hit the floor and Charlotte Daman Willems consistently serving indefensible balls.

After an intensive semi-final between Aberdeen and Edinburgh 1sts, the Saints met Edinburgh in the final. The team continued to play well with Maria Toomik hitting strong middle balls, Britt Martin blocking outside hits, and Annamarie Wheeler showing great tenacity in both front and back row. The games felt incredibly long, as both teams were drained from the day, but the Saints were determined to finish strong, pulling off a historic win and securing the SSS Women’s Volleyball Cup for the first time in 31 years.

Womens Team – Britt Martin, Annika O’Becker, Hannah Berwian, Indre Semogas, Maureen MacIssac, Maria Toomik, Annamarie Wheeler, Lorena Tussis, Charlotte Daman Willems.

Group Stages

St Andrews v Aberdeen (0-2) 23-25, 17-21

St Andrews v Edinburgh 2s (2-0) 21-9, 21-7

St Andrews v Stirling (2-0) 21-15, 21-15

St Andrews v Strathclyde (2-0) 21-16, 21-7

Group Standings

Aberdeen 22

St Andrews 20

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Stirling 14

Strathclyde 14

Edinburgh 2 10

Semi Finals – St Andrews v Glasgow (2-0) 15-8, 15-6

Final – St Andrews v Edinburgh 1 (2-0) 15-11, 15-10

Written by Britt Martin, grandstand writer