Early pacesetters ready for battle

The clash between in-form teams Phantoms and Volleyroos will be the standout match in round three of Volleyball Horsham’s A Grade competition.

Phantoms enjoyed a straight-sets win over Raptors in round two, while Volleyroos bounced back to score a character-building win over Von Steiger Bloods.

Phantoms will look to Delaney Wills and Will Saligari to win the points they need and deliver good service to setter Kara Johnson, in order to get Loucas Vettos, Tyler Puls and James Davidson into the game.

How well Phantoms defend will be the difference between the two teams.

Jack Hannan, Tyler Snowden and Alex Baker are all big hitters and how well they combine with setters Noah Brennan and the returning Kimberley Crabtree will be the key. Libero Becky Schmidt is warming to her task in her return to the competition and how well she controls the Volleyroos defence will be important.

In other matches, Heidelberg will look to keep its unbeaten record intact when it takes on the dangerous Von Steiger Bloods, while Shados Inala will be favorite to keep the Raptors on the bottom of the ladder.

In B Grade, the improving Von Steiger Boomers do battle with stablemates Von Steiger Barbarians in what will be an entertaining match.

The Boomers have Tom Milbourne and Gavin Brown as their go-to hitters, but will have to be at their best to beat the Barbarians, who have Cooper Walter and Clay Heard in good form.

On Monday night in C Grade, the contest between Bingo Biddies and Murtoa Railway is match of the round.

Bingo Biddies are sitting nicely on top of the table after two good wins and have Scott Robinson and Steph Thomson leading the way.

But the Murtoa Railway team is one that never gives in. Warren Young and new team member Stephanie Searle are consistent as ever, so a close game is on the cards.

In an all-female clash, Notorious DIG and HTLC Seagulls are also in for a close game. The Seagulls won their first game last week with Elle Treloar and Taylah Johnson consistent.

The Notorious girls are slowly finding their form. It was great to see Molly Hobbs back on the court last week after injury and with Annika Mcdonald and Brittany Baker finding their touch, it won’t be long before they start impacting the competition.

In juniors, a contest between the two top teams, HC Starfighters and HTLC Phantoms, is the match of the night.

The Starfighters were good in their win last week with Sophie Quick and Jeminah Angue in good form. But the HTLC Phantoms have Logan Young and Olivia Heard playing well, so a close game is expected.