Troon volleyball women in national cup finals

Dec 3 2010 by Mike WIlson, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

TROON women reached their first national cup final of the season, the John Syer Trophy for the top eight sides in Scotland, when they beat Edinburgh Jets 3-0 at Belmont Academy on Saturday.

The result also retained Troon's fantastic winning streak since the start of the season.

Troon overcame Scotland's current third force, doing enough to keep their opponents away from the chance of winning even a set.

Solid play overall, particularly in defence and service reception from Scotland libero Jenny Krawczyk and consistency in all parts of her game from former Scotland star Gillian Lyall, saw Troon squeeze out their win.

Squad: Lyall, Bunten, E and J Krawczyk, McCall, J Jones, Pell, Grant, Clayton, Robertson, Gow, Wheatley and Ramage.

Also at Belmont, Troon women 2 beat City of Edinburgh 2 by 3-1 in an early round of the Scottish Cup.

Jenny Ellis and Alison Duncan led their less experienced teammates with some clever tactical hits and strong serving. Natalie Caldwell and Eilidh Cruse set accurately to allow Katie Barbour and Alyson Jones to score.

In their first season of competitive volleyball, Mechelle Hunter and Kayleigh Flynn are making huge developments with great play in defence.

The third home match saw Troon men 1 lose 3-1 to a slightly understrength Kilmarnock Blaze in the John Syer Trophy.

Troon pushed last season's Scottish league runners-up hard and pressurised the serve receive. This paid dividends in the second set as Killie were finding it difficult to score whereas 16-year-old Callum Gwynne linked well with setter (and twin) Grant to score through the outside.

Graeme Houston had a great hitting game and at times was unstoppable at the net. This was all held together by player/coach Gordon Cree, middle player Daryl McFarlane, off-setter Allan McMurdo and young Scott Wilson who provided much needed back-up.

However, in the third set, Troon were unable to keep the lead they held until the second technical time out as Killie upped their game from the service line making it more difficult for Houston and Callum Gwynne to score. The more experienced players of Kilmarnock took the fourth, and final set.

The fourth game at Belmont saw a young Troon men 2 compete well against Division Two side Su Ragazzi 2 in the Scottish Cup, before losing 3-0.

Troon impressed early on with great ball control and clever play from Harry Briggs, Lorn Shanks and Stuart Morrison at the net. Matt Russell worked hard to provide his hitters with a scoring opportunities while Ross McElvie made it difficult for the Su team to score with some strong blocking. Mike Heaney provided advice and stability.

The youngsters continue to improve from the service line. Briggs, in particular, showed a strong jump serve that caused the opposition problems. With more self belief and more understanding of the organisation, this team will surely enjoy a run of victories.

Saturday sees the return of league volleyball to Belmont Academy as Troon take on North Lanarkshire at 9.45am in the Women's Scottish Schelde First Division and Dundee in a crunch game in the Scheldew Men's Division One at 11.30am, Dundee seconds in the Men's Third Division at 1.30pm and Dundee in the women's Third Division at 3.30pm. Spectators welcome, free entry.