It was a hard weekend for Galway VC who faced the top teams of their leagues last weekend in Dublin. The Galway Volleyball Men Premier League lost 3 – 0 to Aer Lingus, GVC Women Division 1 lost 3 – 1 against Santry Sparks and GVC Men Division 2 team lost 3-2 against UCD.
The GVC Premier League Men team travelled to ALSAA to face one of the top teams in the league, Aer Lingus VC. The match started well, with good blocks by captain Padraig Flanagan and effective hits by Maycon Lopes. The experience of the opponents made the match exciting, with lots of comebacks and long rallies. GVC struggled with too many mistakes in passing, which compromised the points obtained with good service and attack. Every set was tight until the very end, but eventually the Dublin team prevailed with a final result of 3-0.
Aer Lingus VC 3 - Galway VC 0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-21)
Galway VC Premier men's roster: Padraig Flanagan (C), Peter McGlynn, Aidan McDonnell, Jeremiah Obiekwe, Liam Bedford, Jakub Drejkarz, Raymond Loo, Maycon Lopes, Walid Kanouni. Coach: Amanda Burgio.
There was a top of the table match for the GVC Division 1 Women's team against Santry VC Sparks. After the previous week's good performance in Cup, GVC girls went in ready to play their best game. However, the strong serving and solid passing of the opponents put the Galway team in difficulty from the first set.
GVC struggled to find continuity in serving and passing, showing a level of game and several mistakes we are not used to seeing from this strong group of players. After a comeback in the third set with a good streak of serves from Eimear O'Neill, GVC lost the last set and the match.
Santry Vc Sparks 3 - Galway VC 1 (25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 25-13)
Galway VC women's roster: Giulia Comini (C), Amanda Burgio, Mikal O'Boyle, Ienne Lumelay, Nedina Marku, Eimear O'Neill, Deira Valci, Laura Idoux, Cerena Miravalles, Aoibhin McDonnell, Amy O'Sullivan. Coach: Giovanni Spera
The GVC D2 Men's team faced the top team UCD and lost a thrilling 5 set match. The Galway team started strong albeit inconsistent with their serving. As the game went on, they found their rhythm of game, showing great team spirit and cohesion. The two teams created a spectacular and well-fought match, with GVC attackers adapting to the tall opponents' block and working hard for every point. The match finished with a nail-biting fifth set eventually won 15-13 by UCD.
UCD 3 - Galway VC 2 (25:21, 23:25, 25:22, 16:25, 15:13)
Galway VC D2 Men's roster: Antaine O'Conghaile (C), Olivier Rabczynski, Konrad Kizielewicz, Matteo Pezzopane, Stepan Potapov, Eoin Kinsella, Cillian Power, Kuba Grol.
The next matches of the League for our teams will be on December 9th and 10th in Claregalway, with the D2 men facing Kildare PhiVo on Saturday, the D1 facing Ballymun Patriots and Premier Men facing DVC Bravo on Sunday, for the last matches of the year.
