York’s loss to Lancaster in Women’s 1st Volleyball marks an emotional end to this weekend’s volleyball fixtures.
In the first set, the game seemed like it was anyone’s to play for. Both teams seemed optimistic and excited with Lancaster’s first set won by only two points.
The second round was equally fast-paced. Lancaster scored the first point, and York hit the ball out of the court. Lancaster’s ball often had a spin on it, sneaking through gaps in York’s team right out into the crowd.
The tension seemed to be getting to some of York’s players, as those up close to the net misjudged Lancaster’s shots and let the ball fall their side of the net. There was frustration amongst the York team as the Lancaster team seemed more collaborative.
One of the longest rallies ended with York winning. Lancaster quickly hit the ball so hard that York couldn’t return it. Lancaster was able to smash the ball over into the bottom right corner of York’s pitch, which was left undefended.
The differing tactics were interesting to watch: Lancaster knew how to hit it to the back corners of the York pitch where nobody was playing while York‘s strength seemed to be with close taps over the net. There were a few consecutive wins from Lancaster as York fumbled with the bigger hits.
But York definitely won in terms of who had the loudest crowd. Despite the large Lancastrian presence, York made a lot of noise. Chants ranged from ‘What’s your favourite type of tea? (Yorkshire!)’ to ‘I believe that we will win’, encouraging a sense of support that had been missing on York’s side in other sports.
Throughout gameplay, York and Lancaster had been playing pretty evenly. The second set was no different, and Lancaster stretched out further into the lead.
In the third set, York’s Number 12, began with a great first throw, hitting it so that it came straight at Lancaster with no time to react.
Lancaster looked as if they were losing momentum, with York gaining several consecutive wins with little rally. It might have been the tiredness or the pressure kicking in.
One of the Lancaster players volleyed the ball over the net. It just skimmed a York girl’s hands, going over her. Two York players behind both dove in opposite directions to try for a hit but missed, and ended up blocking it and falling over each other as the ball landed on their side. Lancaster scored another point.
Before we knew it, a swarm of red t-shirts had engulfed Lancaster’s team and the York side began their commiseration.
After their win, we spoke with Lancaster’s Number 6, Mona Dimitrova, on how she felt immediately following their success. She said: “tired but amazing like this is everything I’ve ever wanted for the club. As President, I feel like we’ve had a really tough season, we lost against York twice during the season and we knew that we had to put everything in it. We trained hard, we put on a show and we got it.”