The final set of league fixtures in the Perth & District Recreational Volleyball League provided a spectacular climax to the Covid condensed season at Perth College on Sunday evening.
With teams having been divided into two seeded sections based on their league cup performances the remaining fixtures saw the top two play in a straight final with the second placed teams playing off for third and fourth places.
The main fixture on court one was the meeting of Nae Fear and St Juan to decide who would finish top and Jayne Cafferty’s Nae Fear stormed ahead of the St John’s Academy lads taking an 8-1 lead. The St John’s boys then got their act together but they had left themselves too big a points’ gap to claw back, going down 17-25 in the first set. The second set saw St Juan take an early lead and things were very even with the score progressing to 13 points each. Nae Fear then went on a double run of five points for the loss of four which set them up to clinch their place in the final play-off winning 25-17.
Court two had last season’s league champions, PLUS Perth already in pole position and with two more wins under their belt they secured top spot to meet Nae Fear in the final.
PLUS Perth took the early initiative to lead 9-1 but Nae Fear produced a spirited fight back but it was too little too late as PLUS Perth won the first set 25-20.
The second set saw Nae Fear take an early lead, but PLUS Perth crept back to level the scores at 7 points each. Nae Fear then went on a seven-point run but things see-sawed back and forth thereafter with Nae Fear securing a second set win of 25-19 just as the final whistle sounded. With the match tied at one set each it was set points count back which came into play which was devastating for Susan Scott’s PLUS Perth as it was a solitary point which separated them from retaining the league title after a two year Covid lay-off. Nae Fear edged them out by that single point to lift the Recreational title in their first season.
The third and fourth play off between Kinross Cosmos and St Juan got off to a nervous start with points being traded up to five points each. Cosmos then started to creep ahead with some fine hitting from young Alex Pritchard. The Kinross side kept their noses ahead to win the first set 25-16. The second set saw St Juan up their game and deservedly levelled the tie with a 25-18 score to take the game into a third set decider with only minutes remaining. The Kinross side stormed ahead 6-0 to stun the St Juan lads and despite winning back serve and two points, the final whistle sounded with the Kinross side taking third place.
With the two leagues and two cups now decided it brings the condensed league season to a close but there is still much volleyball to be had. Both Perth and Kinross volleyball clubs continue their indoor training/coaching sessions, Kinross on Monday evenings at the Loch Leven Community Campus (8 till 9:45 pm) and Perth on Tuesday evenings at Perth High School (7:30 – 9:30 pm) with both clubs now preparing teams for May’s Scottish Open Volleyball Tournament on the North Inch. The tournament organisers are hoping for 100 teams to grace the North Inch once again with entries already received from the Faroe Islands and Belgium as well as many regulars from Scotland and England. Beach volleyball at Darnhall will also be starting soon so keep a look out for come and try sessions of this very popular summer sport, especially with the Commonwealth Games coming up in Birmingham.