Leading teams come up short

Round nine of Volleyball Horsham’s summer season saw upsets galore as previously undefeated ladder leaders came up short.

In A Grade, Hellenic Nuggets were beaten by Phantoms in two close sets, 24-26, 1425, 16-15.

The Nuggets could not get their game going at all, while Phantoms had consistent contributors in Rowan Sanders, who put up a great defence with strong blocking and quick attacks, and Tyler Puls, who benefitted from Kara Johnson’s clever setting.

The Nuggets first loss of the season has bought the gap between top and second places closer together, giving Phantoms a chance to take top spot.

The second game of the night saw Heidelberg score a good win over Rangers, with Nathan Berry setting well and Shaun Bray consistent in defence. Jack Hannan tried everything to get his team over the line.

In round 10, Rangers get another chance to get back to form when they front up against Hellenic Nuggets, while Phantoms take on Tsunami. Both games are important to the shape of the final four.

In A Reserve, Mark Block’s Blockparty is the in-form team of the competition after accounting for Heidelberg in one of the games of the season so far, while Waterhammers had to pull out all stops to beat a plucky Murtoa last week.

Heidelberg will be smarting after going down last week and has Waterhammers in its sights this week.

Games between these two teams are always close, so with the finals double chance on the line, another close game is looming.

In the second game, Von Steiger Shadows will square off against Murtoa and will have to be on their game to ensure they take the points.

In B Grade, Phantom Masters were surprisingly thrashed by Hot Shots last week, suffering their first loss of the season.

This week they do battle with Team USA, which is coming off the bye, while Hot Shots will be looking to carry their good form into their clash with Heidelberg.

The Heidelberg girls were slow off the mark last week against HTLC Raiders and will need to address that part of their game if they are to beat Hot Shots. Maybe the fact that a win could see them jump back into the four could be the catalyst to get the girls fired up for a big showing.

With only three weeks to go before finals, teams across all grades are showing great skill and determination as they strive to make the four, ensuring all games are competitive and highly entertaining.