Opponents: Warwick Riga
Competition: National League Division 1
Date: Saturday 13th October 2007
Venue: Alan Higgs Centre, Coventry
Result: 3-2 Loss (25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 22-25, 14-16)
Headline: Docklands slip up in five set thriller
Author: Andy Hopper

This weekend London Docklands Volleyball experienced defeat for the first time this season against old rivals Warwick Riga. Over the years the contests between the two sides have always been seesaw occasions and this one was no different. At the start of the match both teams could boast unblemished records after winning their first three matches of the new season. Docklands started the brighter and confidently took a 6-2 lead with kills by Klaus Thummert and Nathan French. With the passing of Alexis Blair and French providing setter Danny Primus with a solid platform from which to feed his hitters, Docklands looked comfortable and held onto their lead throughout the set. Despite gifting Docklands six service errors Warwick remained in the game and a kill by the impressive Kiwi Chris Anderson saved Docklands' first set point at 24-22. However, Primus then set the reliable Thummert to seal the first set 25-23.

Warwick enjoyed the better start to the second set and went ahead 8-4. But after Ian Legrand took a time out Docklands slowly forced their way back into the set and took the lead at 15-14. Warwick were struggling to contain the hitting of French and Francesco Riginelli but Warwick's two Chris Andersons were proving equally elusive along with veteran Kees de Hoogh. However, after the scores were tied at 18-18, Docklands turned it up a notch to steal a two point advantage that proved crucial. In the end an over step by de Hoogh in the back court gave Docklands the second set 25-22 and saw Warwick facing the prospect of an embarrassing 3-0 home defeat.

Docklands maintained their momentum into the third set as a block by Efe Eruero on Warwick's new middle blocker Manuele Monti took the visitors 6-3 up. A time out by Warwick's Tom Young helped stem the flow of Docklands' points and they closed to within a point at 8-7. Then came a pivotal point in the match when the referee called Primus for a carry much to the amazement of everyone in the gym. Docklands let that affect their game and Warwick took advantage to lead 12-8. It was a criminal error by the visitors and Legrand reminded them that certain things are out of their control when he called his second time out 17-13 down. The momentum was now all with Warwick and they coasted to a 25-20 third set win.

Warwick continued their run into set four as they sprinted into a 4-0 lead. But Docklands stuck to their task and with Riginelli killing every ball given to him his side fought their way back. A block by Martin Blake on de Hoogh tied the scores at 10-10 and Docklands were back in the set. Both sides were now fighting for every ball and desperate for any sort of advantage. A service run by de Hoogh saw Warwick go up 18-14 but Docklands came straight back to be level again by 20-20 with a Primus ace. Docklands looked confident again going into the crucial stage of the set but it was two consecutive Docklands' errors that gifted Warwick a lead at 23-21. They gleefully ceased the opportunity to take the match into a deciding fifth set.

Unsurprisingly the fifth set was like a microcosm of the whole match with the momentum flipping between the two sides. However, Docklands were behind from the start and only two consecutive blocks by French and Primus prevented them from switching ends more than two points down. The nerves were clearly getting to the Warwick players as three service errors in a row gave Docklands easy sideouts. Then three Warwick hitting errors and another Blake block on de Hoogh turned an 8-10 deficit into a 12-8 lead for Docklands. Their bad run was stopped by Warwick but the teams sided out to make it 13-12 to Docklands. The pressure then seemed to get to Docklands as a set to Riginelli fell short and Monti shut out the Italian to tie the scores. The momentum was back with Warwick and after they easily defended Docklands' attack the English Anderson punished the visitors to give his side their first match point. Riginelli responded to quieten the home crowd and then Docklands defended de Hoogh's attack in the next point. But French put his hit long to give Warwick a life line and their second match point. Warwick made sure with their serve and Docklands only had to score a simple sideout. But Eruero could only put a low set wide that sent the home side into delirious celebrations.

Afterwards Legrand said, "Warwick is always a difficult place to come and play but we gave ourselves a great opportunity here so in the end the result is disappointing. We need to take the positives from this and use them in the next phase of the season. We now have a run of critical matches that will go a long way to defining our whole season."

Docklands next face west London rivals Polonia who will be looking to recover from their second defeat of the season at the hands of London Malory. Meanwhile, Warwick Riga can currently boast to be the strongest club in the country after their ladies team beat Swiss Cottage 3-0 - both Warwick teams still have 100% records, in the top divisions only City of Wolverhampton can match this achievement.

Black Knight: Francesco Riginelli

Docklands: Riginelli 26 kills (40 attempts), French 12 (29), Blake 5 (8), Thummert 11 (20), Phillips 0 (0), Gaitan 0 (0), Eruero 4 (12), Primus 1 (6), Blair (Libero).

Warwick: Wyles 2 (4), De Hoogh 21 (46), Monti 3 (9), Gilling 4 (9), Anderson (Eng) 14 (28), Anderson (NZ) 13 (24), Turnbull 5 (15), Morawski 0 (0), Molinari (Libero). Sub not used: Spijkers.

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