News
Ghelfi consistency helps Richmond hold on to top spot
26th Oct 2009
Richmond men go top of the National Volleyball League (NVL) Division 2 as they battled back from 2-1 sets down to earn a dramatic 3-2 victory at home and end London Lynx’s 100% record.
Richmond took the early lead in the 1st set 25-17 followed by a scrappy passage of play in the 2nd and 3rd sets with several hitting and blocking errors allowing London Lynx back in the game. The home crowd rallied behind the team in the 4th set and the game then exploded into life with strong blocking, fast middle attacks and greater urgency in the defense.
In the 5th set Richmond went down 4-1 and the Richmond coach made a crucial substitution taking off P.Ceglowski for M.Ghelfi. M.Ghelfi added much stability to the passing unit and attack and Richmond clawed their way back into the game 6:6. Mid-set poor concentration gave the opposition a 3 point advantage 11-8 and Richmond’s front had to work hard with 2 kill blocks reducing the deficient to (11-10). Richmond continued to trade points and leveled the score to (13-13) and a hitting error by Lynx gave Richmond a 1 point advantage (14-13) which was enough to put pressure on Lynx’s passing unit. M.Ghelfi stole the set and match (16-14) with a serve ace.
Richmond coach commented: I’m delighted with the team attacking play in the 1st, 4th and 5th sets, but remained critical of certain aspects of the performance. We started brightly and should have won 3-0 but we just looked lackluster in the 2nd and 3rd sets. The players reacted in a positive manner in the 4th set and showed enough quality in the 5th to take victory. Lynx played their part in a great game and the crowd fully appreciated the excitement and tension.
Final Result: Richmond Volleyball [3] v London Lynx [2]
Set Results: 25-17; 23-25; 21-25; 25-21; 16-14
Richmond's Player of the Match:: M.Ghelfi
Match attendance:: 80
Team List:
P.Ceglowski, G.Scatigna-Gianfagna (cpt), M.Ghelfi, D.Cleather, T.Lasocki, L.Tomášek, T.Stepien; M.Sokolowski, Y. Zdorovcov, A.Kornilov, R.Bachor, E.Bardi, D.Rijvers (Coach)
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