By Jacob Phillips
THE USW women’s volleyball team were comfortably beaten by an impressive West of England side who finished an atmospheric and action-packed encounter without dropping a set.
Both sides began with strong serves and contributed to fluent rallies which fired up the players as they began to cheer each other on after picking up points throughout the first set.
It didn’t take long for us to see the developing partnership of UWE’s Grinberg (14) and Raichel (4).
Grinberg was constantly teeing up Raichel on the left side with her accurate lay-ups, and UWE’s teamwork and team spirit gave them the licence to be more attacking and pick up more points.
The approach proved vital as they finished the first period leading 25 – 17.
USW came out of the blocks after the restart with a refreshened look about them and the home side grabbed the first four points of the session.
But Grinberg began to show her qualities shortly after with her powerful serves causing problems for the USW back line, helping UWE re-establish themselves.
Both sides continued to keep the ball in the air effortlessly, but miscommunication decided USW’s fate in the second period, seeing UWE pick up enough points to see the half out and look increasingly likely to put the game to bed.
The trend between Raichel and Grinberg was evident again in the third session, the pair combined well to pick up more points for their team.
Both sides began to rotate players, especially USW as they tried to pick up the pieces and resurrect their chances of unearthing something from the tie.
They did pick up a few points in the closing stages but it wasn’t enough.
Raichel’s zestful performance ensured victory for UWE in the final quarter as their rotational dynamics saw them seal a 25-16 victory and an overall 3-0 win.