The May bank holiday is always a big weekend in the volleyball calendar – and this year was no different with another brilliant Inter Regional Championships!
Local club rivalries were put aside as the nine volleyball regions were represented by the best volleyball talent in their area in the Under 15 and Under 17 competitions.
The competition was hosted at two new venues with the University of Leicester hosting the Under 15 competition and the Under 17 event taking place at the brand-new facilities at the University of Warwick.
The girls’ event was up first played on the Saturday and Sunday, with the boys following on Sunday and Monday.
Girls Inter Regionals
SW U15 Girls
The South East took gold in the Under 15 competition after putting in a superb performance over the two days. They only dropped one set on their march to victory, and that was in the pool stage to London, who they eventually met in the final.
The final was a well-fought contest with the South East winning 2-0 (25-17, 25-23), leaving London the claim a deserved silver medal. The final medal went to the North West as they pipped the East to the bronze, winning on a deciding set. For the full results, click here.
SW U17 Girls
At the older age group, it was the South West who were crowned champions. They defeated the North West in a thrilling final 2-1 (25-22, 19-25, 15-11). The two teams had topped the pool stages so it was a showdown of the two outstanding teams of the weekend.
London took the bronze by beating East Midlands in the 3rd place playoff, which was not a surprise as they were the only team to take sets off South West and North West.
The girls’ MVPs went to Georgia McGovern of South West and Rhea Hackin of the North West. For the full results, click here. Report from VE web site
Boys Inter Regionals
SW U15 Boys
With seven regions competing, the boys U15 competition was a league format with each team playing each other once.
It was the boys from the capital that emerged victorious as they claimed seven straight victories to top the table. It was gold for London while silver went to West Midlands, as they only lost out to London. In the showdown which would prove decisive in crowning the champions, London managed to oust West Midlands over three sets (25-22, 21-25, 15-11).
The South West took third, only losing out to the top two. For the full results, click here.
SW U17 Boys
The Under 17 competition also had seven teams so was played out in the straight league format too. London were at the double in the boys competition also taking gold at Under 17 level. As with their under 15 counterparts, London U17 were victorious in all their matches to take top spot with maximum points.
The title deciding match proved to be London versus South East, with the boys from the capital winning the deciding set 15-8. The South East took silver as they defeated all the other regions. West Midlands took bronze as they only lost out to the top two, even running champions London close. For the full results, click here.
A selection of photos from the weekend.
