Junior National League 29th Oct 2006
Junior Boys: Mearns Castle v NLVC 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 15-7) NLVC v NUVOC 2-1 (25-13, 25-12, 15-17)
This was the opening round of the JNL. A squad of 10 players from NLVC took part. The opening match against last year's JNL winners, Mearns Castle, was a daunting task especially as they had beaten us comprehensively on two occasions last year. The starting six of S Stirrat (capt), D Anderson, R Allen, D Boyd, A McGowan and D Ramage were a different team this year; pushing the present champions all the way in the first two sets with some fine defensive work (from libero J McNaught) and excellent setting (D Boyd) and in addition some superb hitting/blocking from R Allen. In both opening sets the teams were tied at 21 before Mearns applied that little extra pressure to see the sets out. All squad players were given court time in the 3rd set and after a shaky start, (7-0) down, actually managed to score point for point in the remaining part of the set. In the game against NUVOC the boys showed exactly what they can do. NUVOC had no answer to the strong hitting from D Anderson, S Stirrat and D Ramage. All aspects of the team's game were working well. Again the starting line up was altered for the 3rd set. The team actually led 14 -12 in this set but inexperience showed eventually losing 15-17. Man of the match was S. Stirrat who not only played very well but played his captain's role by helping the younger, less experienced players on court with sound advice and guidance. John Gallagher
National League 28th Oct 2006
Division 3 Men: Jets II v NLVC 3-2 (25-21, 30-28, 16-25, 25-16, 16-18)
This was a closely fought match with Derek Boyd setting for the first time for the men this season. The first 2 sets were very competitive with NLVC trailing 24-22 in the 2nd, but turning it around to enable them to serve twice for the set - however it was not to be. The team showed real character after losing this tight set to come back in the 3rd and win it convincingly. However inconsistency proved their undoing in the 4th. Although this meant the match, the team refused to give up and saved 2 set points before edging the 5th set 18 -16. This says a lot about the character of the team who are determined to compete for every point, which bodes well for the rest of the season. John Gallagher
Division 2 Men: Bellshill Cardinals v Lenzie 4-1
Bellshill dominated this match from the start, limiting the visitors to 13, 13 and 11 points to wrap up the first three sets of the match in convincing manner. Strong serving from Gordon Coburn along with exquisite setting from Billy Harris dictated the tempo of the offence with Lenzie struggling to trouble the league leaders. Predictably with the match won Bellshill dropped the intensity of their play and Lenzie started scoring, taking 17 points in the fourth set. A mixture of lacklustre play and poor concentration from Bellshill along with improved blocking by Lenzie allowed them to take the fifth set as way of consolation. With Bellshill's hardest games against Mets and Su Ragazzi coming up the next few weeks will go a long way to deciding who will finish in top spot. Setter Billy Harris stated, "I was delighted by the manner we won the first four sets but disappointed we were unable to keep our focus to the end of the match. Our concentration and focus will have to improve dramatically if we are to maintain our top spot in the league. On a positive note I still don't think we are performing to our best and there is definitely better to come." Billy Harris
National League 21st Oct 2006
Division 3 Men: NLVC v Pentland NUVOC III 1-4 (22-25, 15-25, 11-25, 25-20, 15-17)
This was not the best performance from NLVC. The passing unit did not function well with the result that many points/free balls were given up to the opposition who capitalised on this. Serving errors, (10), did not help matters. Additionally inconsistency continues to plague the team. Furthermore this was starting setter Brian Douglas's last game for the foreseeable future as he has commitments elsewhere. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian for his sterling service both to the team and the club and wish him all the best. He will be missed. Ironically the team played their best volleyball after going 0-3 in sets. Continuing on this brighter note, back up setter Derek Boyd took over as setter in the 5th set and acquitted himself admirably despite losing narrowly 15-17. Also new players, namely Anthony McGowan and Craig Brown, showed a great deal of promise when they were given court time. John Gallagher
Division 2 Men: Pentland NUVOC II v Bellshill Cardinals 2-3 (25-13 , 17-25, 25-21, 20-25, 5-15)
With only six players and Nuvoc looking to avenge last season's cup final defeat, this away league match promised to be a tough encounter. NUVOC started the match in impressive fashion and dominated the set from the off. With help from the steadying influence of veteran Iain Harvey Bellshill slowly worked their way into the match and were able to level the game. The match swung to and fro over the next two sets with neither team able to impose themselves over their opposition as the game sat all square at two sets all. With the game on a knife edge Bellshill mustered up a performance of grit and determination and as things started to click into place the Cardinals finally overpowered Pentland to win this epic contest. With none of the Bellshill players on top form it took a true team performance to enable the Cardinals to win their most difficult match of the season. Bellshill go into next week's match against newly promoted Lenzie looking to protect their unbeaten start to the season. Billy Harris
Top Teams Cup 14th Oct 2006
Women: NLVC v Rucanor Jets 1-3 (22-25, 12-25, 25-17, 22-25)
With a number of players either on holiday or injured, NLVC was left with the minimum 6 players for this Top Team Cup game against Jets. Although the outcome of 3 to 1 against wasn’t what the team was looking for, the display of teamwork and fighting spirit shown by all was excellent. This showed undoubtedly in the 3rd set where, after going down to 12 points in the second, we won the third to 17. Everyone played well on the day but a special mention must go to Caitlin McEwan who stepped up from the Junior Girls for the first time and played exceptionally well. Tom Rooney
National League 14th Oct 2006
Division 3 Men: NLVC v South Ayrshire 3-2 (25-16, 19-25, 28-26, 13-25, 15-11)
This was a hard fought match by both sides. In the first set NLVC played some of the best volleyball this season with middle and outside hitters moving well and exploiting gaps in the Ayrshire defense. Lapses in concentration - especially in serving - cost NLVC dearly in the second set. In the 3rd the players showed real character to save 2 set points and played some determined defence to edge the third by 28-26. Significant changes to the line up by the coach for the fourth set were instrumental in the loss of team cohesion which resulted in a heavy loss. However the team rallied superbly in the fifth winning 4 points in a row to win 15-11. Man of the match was undoubtedly Sean Stirrat who completed 19 kills from 31 attempts resulting in him having a 0.54 kill efficiency ratio. John Gallagher
National League 7th Oct 2006
Division 2 Men: Bellshill Cardinals v Fife 5-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-22 , 25-16, 15-12)
Bellshill stormed to the top of the league with a resounding win over recently relegated Team Fife. Bellshill controlled the majority of the match with fierce serving and a steady passing unit backed up with some solid team defence. Again Stevie Graham produced some quality defence with Colin Smith dominating at the net. Bellshill now face a Pentland team which always proves to be a tough game with both teams looking to protect their unbeaten record. Billy Harris
Division 1 Women: Troon v NLVC 3-0 ( 25-15, 25-19, 25-11)
What the team knew would be a difficult match turned out to be just that. Poor starts in all of the sets didn’t allow NLVC to get into any rhythm and although the teams swapped points in the first two sets, it was always going to be difficult to come back. The second set did, however, give NLVC a good lift with some fighting spirit shown from all the players. This could not be carried over to the very disappointing third set when the team couldn’t get into the game at all. A big positive is that the players all know they can do much better and this bodes well for the rest of the season. Tom Rooney