Kian Gadsby
The University of Nottingham Men’s Volleyball 1’s Team won a pulsating National Championship final 3-2 over Newcastle to secure a second ever title.
With the two teams who were comfortably the best in the country going at each other head-to-head on the biggest stage, this always had the potential to be a final for the ages. Nottingham had won every BUCS game before this, but Newcastle were the only team they had dropped a set to all season and after a blistering NVL Super League campaign appeared to be more than capable of taking down the favourites.
What happened next was the most enthralling volleyball final in recent memory.
Everything started so perfectly for UoN, and at the halfway stage the Green and Gold appeared poised to charge to the title. They won a narrow first set 25-22, before running away with the second 25-10 to put themselves only one set short of the title.
At 15-13 up midway through the third, they were only 10 points away from a second ever National Championship.
But then it all went wrong. Newcastle, who were desperate not to give up without a fight, went on the attack and clawed their way back into proceedings. They snatched the third 23-25, before ramping up the intensity with an 18-25 win in the fourth.
All of a sudden Notts had it all to do yet again.
It looked like Nottingham were going to crumble under the pressure when they went 3-9 down in the final set. The momentum was with Newcastle, and there was seemingly nothing that anyone in a green jersey could do to stop the onslaught.
After a valiant effort, Notts could have accepted defeat there and then. Instead, a late timeout offered the opportunity for some motivational words ahead of a final hurrah, and the Green and Gold took full advantage and arrested the slide.
First, captain Rob Morgan made a pivotal block to shut down the Newcastle offence, before Newcastle sent two identical deep shots beyond the Notts baseline. Suddenly Nottingham were level.
They wouldn’t go behind again, and when England U22 international Lisle Costard got up to make a big block and hand them the advantage, the trophy seemed destined to end in Green and Gold hands.
It wasn’t without nervy moments, as Nottingham missed match points and as Newcastle looked to make their own late rally. But in the end it was Morgan who secured the title; the skipper sparking jubilant celebrations by finding the back of the court with a looping shot that clinched a 17-15 win.
The aftermath was an outpouring of emotion. Nottingham had waited too long to get their hands on a second National Championship crown, and victory erased the devastation of missing out in the semi-finals last year.
Now the next goal is to defend their title, something that hasn’t been achieved by any men’s volleyball side since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, if the Green and Gold can display the resilience that they showcased in this final, then they may be poised to make history yet again next year.
Kian Gadsby
Featured image courtesy of UoN Sport. No changes were made to this image.
In article Image 1 courtesy of UoN Sport. No changes were made to this image.
In article Image 2 courtesy of UoN Sport. No changes were made to this image.
