Weymouth Beach Clinch second win in National League One

Weymouth Beach Volleyball Club made it two league victories in a row with a 3-1 win against the established Division 1 side, City of Bristol.

The newly promoted side travelled to Bristol on Saturday knowing that the game would be a test of their ability and resolve after a poor result on the road against Cambridge a few weeks previous.

Weymouth did not get off to the good start they had hoped for in the first step. They failed to put pressure on their opponents who pulled out a significant lead early on. At the newly introduced sanitisation break, they found themselves 15-6 behind. However, with the introduction of Liam Tewkesbury, the away side started to build some momentum. This was not enough to win the first set as they lost 25-18 but it did give them some momentum and prove they were able to compete.

The Seasiders came out in the second set full of belief and this showed as the passing unit improved enabling setter Ryan Stout to link up with his hitters. The two sides traded points at the start of the set but Weymouth managed to pull out a 17-13 lead. This prompted Bristol to take a timeout from which they managed to pull back a few points but it was not enough to stop Weymouth level it up at 1 set all (25-22).

Bristol now knew they were in for a tough battle and the third and fourth sets turned out to be just that. It would take 2 clear points at the end of both sets to separate the teams. In the third set solid backcourt defence from Valdis Baranovs and Elliott Sawyer kept Weymouth in long rallies that went both ways. Ryan Stout went back to serve with scores at 25 all and took the set away from Bristol with 2 great jump serves that were too strong for his opponents. The away side had turned it round and were now 2-1 up.

Weymouth got off to a great start in the fourth set with solid serving runs from Darren Harding and Ryan Stout. At the midway stage they had managed to establish a 16-12 lead. They could not sustain this though and the home side had turned it round a few points later and built a 21-18 lead themselves. The Seasiders had to regroup. Strong blocking from Sam Groom and Archie Golding helped contribute to a comeback and yet again it was 25 all. This time it was Sam Groom’s turn to go back to serve and win the set 27-25 and the match 3-1.

Weymouth will be in action against London Aces away next up in the league in 2 weeks time. They will take a lot of confidence from this performance and hope it will spur them on in weeks to come.