Last week, the Trinity men’s and women’s volleyball teams headed down to Cork for the volleyball intervarsities. The men’s team glided through its first and second round fixtures but was stopped short of the final by the hosts, University College Cork (UCC). The women also made it to the semi-final with some solid wins but lost out to a strong University College Dublin (UCD) side.
The men’s team started brightly on the Thursday of intervarsities. In its first game the team drew to Queen’s University Belfast (Queen’s), managing to decisively take the first set. Queen’s recuperated well and managed to take the second set to share the spoils. Trinity won both of its next games efficiently, beating both IT Carlow and NUI Galway (NUIG) two sets to nothing.
Trinity played its last game of round one on Friday, maintaining its winning streak by beating UCD. This game saw a particularly strong performance from Marc Buret at opposite position. In round two, first up was a battle against Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) in which Trinity came out the victors. Trinity’s service was particularly strong and its blocking capabilities majorly hindered GMIT’s best hitter. Trinity then took on Athlone Institute of Technology, beating the team in what was a close encounter. Trinity was helped along by the big hitting of Alexander Swanson and Stef Verreydt. Trinity can be particularly pleased with this win after losing to Athlone earlier in the season.
Trinity’s winning streak was brought to a shuddering halt by UCC in the semi-final on Saturday morning. In what was a very close encounter UCC got the better of Trinity and progressed to the final.
The women had a mixed Thursday, beating NUIG but falling short against UCD. On Friday, the team started the second round with a comprehensive victory against Dublin City University (DCU). Although slightly shaky at the beginning, Trinity managed to get things together and narrowly took the first set. Trinity was far more clinical in the second set, winning it 25–8.
After DCU, Trinity took on UCC. Trinity stayed in the game with some powerful serving courtesy of Hayley Chan, who has been impressive throughout this season. Trinity was better in the second set and claimed a half point from the game after the timer ran out. This meant Trinity had progressed to a semi-final fixture against UCD on Saturday.
The game against UCD, a team which boasts several Premier League players, was in truth quite one-sided, with UCD taking both sets fairly easily. Trinity fought hard and managed to stay energetic throughout but UCD was too strong on the day. Trinity couldn’t manage to avenge the defeat at the hands of UCD earlier in the competition.
Overall, it was a mixed intervarsities for both teams. The players both fought hard and were energetic on the court but just didn’t have enough to make it to the finals. For their work ethic and for reaching the semi-final, players of both teams deserve commendation. The results of these intervarsities add to what has been a positive season for both teams.
