Following the recent league cup competitions, the Perth & Kinross District Volleyball League kicked off its league season when the Recreational League teams met for the first round of fixtures at Perth College on Sunday evening. With the Perth V.C. junior team pulling out due to school commitments this provided the opportunity for new side Aberuthven Acers to step in to fulfil their fixtures for the rest of the season and a welcome addition they will make to the league with a nice blend of youngsters and experienced players. The Plus Perth side were unable to field a side on Sunday due to illness decimating their squad.
First teams on court were regulars Aberfeldy in their opening fixture against All Stars. This was a very close and enjoyable match with All Stars edging the first set 25-22 only for Aberfeldy to level things by taking the second set 25-21.
Crieff and Team Fife met on court two in another well contested match with lots of good play evident from the enthusiastic youngsters. It was Team Fife who triumphed winning 25-18; 25-17.
Crieff then played All Stars in another close contest with the Crieff youngsters just edging victory 25-23; 25-21.Team Fife then continued their impressive start with a 25-9; 25-15 win against the Kinross High School young side. The Kinross High side then met the Kinross men’s team and made an impressive start which took their men’s team by surprise. Once the men’s side settled into their rhythm they proved too strong for the school side eventually winning 25-16; 25-12.
Next it was two well established local sides who took the court with last season’s league champions Nae Fear taking on Motley Crew. This match saw both sides show a mixture of nice play coupled with rusty play with the current champions just finishing ahead 25-19; 25-17. Crew then played Aberuthven Acers, just pipping the league newcomers 25-21; 15-14. The Acers then took on Paris Diggers with Acers recording victory 25-16; 20-16. Diggers then took on Tay Pearls and scraped through the first set 25-23 with Pearls making a storming come back in the second set to lead 18-9 at full time.
The final game of the evening was a classic with the meeting of current champions Nae Fear and Kinross. The Kinross side surprised the champs by taking the first set 25-16 The second set saw Nae Fear come more into the game and they led 17-15 as the full time whistle sounded.
So Team Fife claim top spot with two wins out of two, closely followed by Kinross and Aberfeldy with Tay Pearls and Nae Fear taking fourth and fifth places.
This Sunday sees the Premier League teams open their league season with local side Dodgy Spikers looking to retain the title for another season. Spikers have three games this Sunday taking on Perth V.C., Eagles and Crieff with each of their opponents looking to see who will be first to put one over last season’s champions. Meanwhile league cup winners Clackers take on Team Fife, Crieff and Kinross hoping that their successful start to the season continues.
The full round of fixtures for this Sunday with officiating team in brackets:
6 pm Team Fife v Clackers (Mental Blocks); Kinross v Perth (Crieff)
6:35 Team Fife v Mental Blocks (Kinross); Dodgy Spikers v Perth (Eagles)
7:10 Clackers v Crieff (Team Fife); Kinross v Eagles (Dodgy Spikers)
7:45 Mental Blocks v Crieff(Clackers); Dodgy Spikers v Eagles (Perth)
8:20 Team Fife v Perth (Mental Blocks); Clackers v Kinross (Crieff)
8:55 Mental Blocks v Eagles (Perth); Dodgy Spikers v Crieff (Kinross)