SAVILLS LADIES’ coaches Mike Amstad and Mike Dorey have been left with a major headache two weeks before their top-of-the-table meeting with NashCopy Red in the OSA Recruitment Leagues. Julie Elmy has been sidelined for a minimum of six weeks after breaking her wrist during training last week and inside hitters Ann Saunders and Rachel Guille have advised the coaches that they are away from the island for this important clash.

That means that Savills have three of their normal starting six players missing for a game, which, if they win, would give them back the league title.

Elmy will be a huge loss to the team as she is their main setter and playmaker and with their reserve setter having just left the island, they have been forced to have a major re-think.

The coaches therefore used Savills’ only match prior to the clash with NashCopy to try and restructure the team.

Danielle Stevens, a newcomer this year, played in Elmy’s normal position and she fitted in well considering that she hasn’t played the position before.

Michelle Green, meanwhile, also played a sterling match and the team beat ASL 1 in three straight sets.

NashCopy Whites took a long time to settle in their match against NRGI and the first-set score of 28-26 in the latter’s favour was testament to that.

Despite two new players – Lara Snell and Martine Bougourd – in the second set NashCopy dominated.

Some excellent serving by the entire team inspired their play and they constantly worked hard for every point to first even the match and then take the third set.

A change of line-up for the Whites did not unsettle the team and with the setters able to vary their attacks to all players, NRGI were left guessing about where the ball would be coming from next.

NashCopy promptly closed up the game with a 3-1 score-line.

In the men’s league, Orchard PR had their work cut out against defending champions, Savills Tangos. With the first two sets falling to the better team, Orchard just had to play to enjoy themselves. Some good setting put the ball on the end of the spiker’s hands and Paul Cave, Dave Bartram and Matthew Hann kept on swinging at the ball.

That was not enough though and Savills did not allow them many points.

In the third, Tangos seemed to let things slip a little.

Sitting joint top with the Tangos, NashCopy struggled to find their form despite a 3-0 win over Savills Blues which keeps alive their title hopes.

With key players missing, NashCopy surprisingly eased to a first-set win and won many attacks, with Liam Smyth blocking well.

However, that soon changed in the second and they started to lose their way when it came to the play at the net.

Spikes were going astray and this gave Savills Blues the inspiration they needed.

It was to prove a very close match in the end, but if Savills had found their form instead of making basic mistakes, it could have been a very different story.

In the Mixed League, NashCopy secured a win over Cannon Green who were forced to play with four women.

RB Coquelin put in a solid performance against Cannon’s second team to keep them secure in second spot, while the Island Ladies put in another convincing performance

to beat Investec in straight sets.

In the Social League, the GVA Juniors lost in three sets but put up a good fight against a much taller side.

Having lost the first set, the juniors got off to a good start in the second and with player of the match Emily Kimber and Nick Gaudion making some great pickups, took the match to a deciding set.

That final set was very close with the juniors playing some good three-touch volleyball. With good spiking from the ever-improving James Grundy and Hannah Riley, the youngsters were unlucky to lose it by just a couple of points.