Scottish Volleyball’s first trophies of the 2009-10 season were up for grabs at Wishaw Sports Centre on Sunday 6th December, as the fourth Top Teams Cup Finals took place.
The competition was renamed the John Syer Trophy in memory of the first Director of the SVA and is restricted to teams playing in Division One of the National League. In previous years it has been a good indicator of the respective teams forms for the remainder of the season.
The preliminary draw threw up some interesting ties, with the most successful teams in each league drawn to play one another. In the men’s competition Glasgow Mets, City of Edinburgh, Kilmarnock and City of Glasgow Ragazzi fought it out for a coveted place in the Final, and it was Edinburgh Jets, Su Ragazzi and City of Edinburgh in the running for the women.
City of Edinburgh came to the final to face last year’s treble winners Troon, Prestwick & Ayr with both teams going through qualifying stages unbeaten. What was billed as a close match turned out to be a display of City of Edinburgh’s power, as Mel Coutts and Natalie Durkaca combined time and again to great effect, as City of Edinburgh romped to a 25-8 first set triumph.
Troon came more into things in the remainder of the match, but were never able to challenge Edinburgh’s power and accuracy in attack, allowing them to hold a lead through the remainder, winning 25-21, 25-22 for a 3-0 victory to take home their first silverware in three years.
Having lost Danny Traylor from their already short handed squad, many would have expected City of Edinburgh men to struggle for consistency this season. However the boys from Queensferry moved quickly in the summer to make three significant signings, Graeme Riddle and Radek Szendlek crossing the city from Pentland NUVOC and Remy Sisic joining from French giants AS Cannes.
They were joined in the final by Bon Accord, newly returned to the top flight and having consolidated a mid-table place at the half season mark. They clashed on league duty the day before the final, City winning 3-0, and this form was carried forward to the John Syer Trophy Final. Bon Accord looked impressive in spells, particularly Steve Milne, but City of Edinburgh always had the upper hand Sisic and Szendlek proved major obstacles to the Bon Accord attack. This enabled Edinburgh playmaker Gavin Watt to run a power offence and proved to be too much for Bon Accord, who were beaten in straight sets (25-19, 25-19, 26-24).
The trophies were presented by Scottish Volleyball’s CEO, Margaret Ann Fleming, and the large crowd, particularly the sizeable Edinburgh contingent, went home happy after another great day of Scottish Volleyball.
Steve Scott
Competitions Commission
