Stirling University Men’s Volleyball - Stirling vs South Ayrshire 3rd, Saturday 20th October
Stirling University Men’s Volleyball team began their Scottish Cup campaign with a scintillating display of aggressive and attacking volleyball to record a straight sets victory over a South Ayrshire side already well into their national league season. Despite this being their first match of the new season, Stirling should few signs of rustiness as they bossed the match early on. However, a resilient South Ayrshire pulled the set back in their favour, before a late comeback saw Stirling take the set 25-23.
The second set was equally unpredictable, with both sides ahead at various points. Powerfully hitting from 4th year Scott Currie, 1st year James Brown and 2nd year and captain Cammy Murrie kept Stirling within touching distance of their west coast counterparts. Aggressive middle hitting from last year’s club captain Kostas Ioannidis and 1st year Henry Clinton, as well as some tidy setting from club president Innes Shirreff allowed Stirling to steal the second set 26-24 after being 19-23 down, with club President Innes Shirreff producing a fearless ‘tip’ at 23-23, winning a crucial point for the home side.
The third set followed in the same vein as the first two, competitive, aggressive and close. Stirling rolled on the substitutes and showed strength in depth as off-setter Ross Birss, middle hitter Peter McDougall and setter Danny Ross came on and kept the points flowing Stirling’s way. Libero Dino Vo produced some excellent passing throughout the match to allow Stirling to attack. The score could not have been closer, with Stirling again showing determination to come from behind to win the set 25-23 giving them a successful first taste of Scottish Cup action. A win in their next encounter against Lenzie will see Stirling move on to the next stage of the competition.
Team: Innes Shirreff, Scott Currie, Cammy Murrie, Kostas Ioannidis, Ross Birss, Danny Ross, James Brown, Henry Clinton, Dino Vo, Peter McDougall.
Coach: Giannos Pannayiotakis
