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Summer Schedule and End of Season Wrap-Up for Maidstone Volleyball Club

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Kent County Volleyball Finals Day

Maidstone VC are proud to yet again be hosting the Kent County Volleyball Finals Day (this is the 4th in a row since Lewis took over as Chair of the KCVA).

Please feel free to come along and watch some great volleyball throughout the day, and stay to cheer on our very own Diamonds players collect the trophy and medals for winning the Women’s 1st League this season 🙂

Team Performances

This season saw the growth of all six teams across the club. New players joined Gems, Quartz, Emeralds, and Onyx. A couple of key players strengthened the first teams for Diamonds and Rocks.

Good progress was made throughout, ending the season much stronger than it started!

Diamonds performed the best, earning a place in the SEVA tournament via winning the KVCA Women’s Premier Division! This was an exceptional achievement by Coach Frank and the players. It often required players to play out of position. They won the league by a single set point. It was a narrow victory over a very competitive Tonbridge team, who also joined the SEVA tournament.

MVC AGM and End of Season Awards and Social Evening

This year’s AGM will be held at the Market House in Maidstone (upper room is booked out) from 5pm. We urge members to come along and share their views. Members should understand how the club is run. They can see if they can help with running any part of it. Members will also vote on some important matters.

Each year, our committee posts are retired and put back up for nomination and election. All members above 18 years old are eligible to nominate themselves for these posts:

Chair

Finance/Treasurer

Secretary/Operations

We also have non-portfolio specific committee roles and all members are eligible to apply for these roles.

There are lots of tasks that need doing throughout the season, and every little helps 🙂

After the AGM concludes, the venue will transform into the Awards Ceremony. We will hand out various awards for members’ efforts throughout the season. The below awards come with a name on the plaque, forever to be written into MVC history books:

Club Player of The Year (as voted for by all members)

Most Improved Player (Womens, Mens, Foundation and Junior – as voted for by coaches)

Volunteer of the Year (based on sessions / events helped at, annxiliiary items, as voted for by the Commitee)

Ray’s Unsung Hero Award – In memory of Ray, a special award is given to someone who may go under the radar. This person means a lot to the club and its members.

There will also be extra awards throughout the evening for team specific items.

Summer Schedule

The 2024/2025 Indoor season is approaching its end. Only 1 week of regular indoor training is left. After that, we will move to our summer schedule.

Tuesdays – 7:00pm-8:30pm – Women’s 1st and 2nd team training by invitation

Tuesdays – 8:30pm-9:00pm – Men’s 1st and 2nd team training by invitation

Wednesdays – 6:00pm until 7:30pm – Junior Training

Thursdays – 6:30pm – 8:00pm – Social Indoor Games sessions

We will also be having outdoors grass nets up, these will be advertised dependant on weather via Spond.

To join our club and receive invitations to these PAYG sessions, please complete the form https://club.spond.com/landing/signup/maidstonevolley

Payment

Due to the rise of hall hire fees, we have had to increase our fees slightly. However, we are trialling a Summer Pay Back Scheme.

This means that the price for each adult 1.5 hour session is £13 plus Spond payment fee. But each month, an admin will review attendance for the previous sessions, and work out the average attendance. If this average is above 8, players will receive credit to use at other sessions. If they are only summer players, the club will refund them the equivalent amount. This refund will be deposited back into their bank at the end of the season.

An example: if June average attendance is 12, each player who paid or used credit to attend will receive £4 credit per session. This credit is given for each session they attended. This would make the session actual cost only £9. It runs on a scale for 9,10,11 & 12 attending.

The Club believes this is the fairest way to charge players. It ensures the hire fees are covered. Additionally, it reduces the actual cost to members as low as possible.

Quartz Quality on Display

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Strood Foundation 1 vs 4 – MVC Quartz

The 15th of September 2024 saw MVC’s first club game, for the Quartz team in the KCVA Official Foundation League.

The league is designed as a way to get people into playing competitively, and is often seen as a stepping stone between beginners and the more formal leagues. With the current amount of demand though, it is often more than just a friendly league, with players looking to impress and learn, whilst of course having fun.

The venue, Thinking Fitness at Holcombe school in Chatham is Strood’s new home for a few seasons now. Plenty of free on site parking, easy to access. But, comes with the “Beam of Death”. A ceiling support beam that looms over one end of the court like a dark cloud on a sunny day at the park…. beware the beam!!!!

The Quartz team was made up of 7 players (with a cameo sub from our very on own Onyx team and last seasons impressive Quartz coach Ben).

  • Jorden (Captain)
  • Charlie (MVP)
  • Brenden
  • Jonathon
  • Milly
  • Callum
  • Ben

Jorden, Charlie and Callum competed last year for Quartz, and are looking to move into Onyx this season, but for the others, this was their first ever indoor structured game, with only a few weeks of training under them.

Lewis was coaching this mixed team and decided to run a very simple rotational setting system formation, as opposed to Strood who seemed to be running a 5-1 rotation mainly.

Set 1

Quartz won the toss, and elected to serve first, with Strood choosing ends, so as not to have the “beam of death” on their side.

Callum playing in shirt 22 lead the serving, and it was first point to MVC! The scores were quite even through the first rotation of serves, as players were adjusting to the game and finding their feet. After both teams had served, scores were sitting at 9-7 in MVC favour.

Quartz managed to always stay in the lead, with some exception pick-ups by Jorden leading the way for the rest of the team to follow.

A similar approach for the rest of the set ensued, with the final score being after a tie break, 26-24 to Quartz.

Set 2

Set 2 saw Quartz on the preferred end with more clearance, and the exact same starting rotation as the 1st set. Strood were lead the serving this time, but the momentum from the set, Quartz managed to get he first point again.

With some very consistent serving from Milly, Quartz managed to get a 2 point lead, and extended again on the second round of serving.

Strood maintained within reach, with some exceptional play, but unlike the 1st set, they were unable to bring the scores to within the 2 points required for the last few servers, with a more confident set win of 25-21 to Quartz.

Set 3

Set 3, match set potentially, and the beam of death… this was nothing the Quartz team, as by the time all players had finished the first of serving, Quartz were leading Strood 10-5.

That is when experience was needed for Strood, and with a cool head and encouragement, Paula ‘Pops’ was the first sub of the day, managing to bring Strood back up to within 2 points.

The scores were now at 11-9 in Quartz favour, meaning Quartz had scored only 1 point while Strood scored 4.

Quartz were forced to make substitution at 15-11

This momentum swing for Strood saw them keep on track, catch and draw level at 24-24. A great effort from Strood number 48 in the set especially, never giving up helping Strood to cement the lead. Quartz fought hard to get to a lead of 25-24, but Strood took the next 3 points, including two very good serves from their number 73, and they managed to take the 3rd set 27-25.

Set 4

So, the home team now had the momentum advantage, and had perhaps seen what they needed to do to turn things around, hoping for a 5 set victory.

The pre-set team talk for Quartz was based around them believing, and showing what they can do. Well, the whole team took note, with a standout pass, set and immense spike from Brenden, that took everyone by surprise!

As they had done every set, Quartz took the first point from Strood serve, neutralising the momentum Strood took from the previous set.

Score remained close for the next 3 servers, as they had done the whole game. But then came Charlie, fresh from resting his back with some great service pressure, helping Quartz take a 5 point lead for the second time in the match. Strood Paula again helped to bring scores closer, reducing to 2 point deficit for the team in red.

Then another forced substitution was need for Quartz, with Milly pushing hard to defend at the net and landing awkwardly, Lewis did not want to risk further injury, and substituted Ben back on for the second time.

Ben does play in KCVA Div 1 Men’s competition, so was instructed with the task of playing controlled, show casing his passing & team work abilities above the potential for blocking and spiking.

Led by the ever present and resourceful captain Jorden – and the growing confidence and skills of Brenden and Jonathon – Quartz managed to bring them selves 5 points clear again at 20-15, which triggered the time out from Strood.

What ever Mirja – the Strood coach – said during the time out worked a treat. Strood had pulled back 5 points , again with the attacking serve from Strood number 73, with Quartz managing to side out at 23-20 in their favour.

Things looked set for another tie-break in this closely fought game, but Strood were just not able to break into the 2 point advantage Quartz had to force the issue and apply the pressure.

Quartz kept the score board ticking over for the next few servers, before finally winning the 4th set 25-21.

Conclusion

The game really showed what the Foundation league is about, with many players across both teams enjoying one of their first match experiences. There were some great rallies, some clinical serves and attacks, and some great chasing and diving to save points.

As it always is against Strood, both teams showed a great team spirit towards themselves, their opponents, and the officials who give up their time to help.

A special note to Mirja, who manged to multitask both coaching and assisting the scorer at the same time, not an easy task at all!

When asked, Quartz captain (and the Club’s Chairman and Welfare officer….) Jorden responded:

“The excitement and joy of volleyball was palpable in today’s game. Great work everyone, we can only continue to improve…”

The final scores were Quartz 3 – Strood 1 ( 26:24; 25:21, 25:27, 25:21).

After just under 2 hours of close fought volleyball, special mentioned to Strood number 48 Robert, and Quartz number 8 Charlie, who their opponents voted as the MVP (most valuable player).

Thank you to Strood for hosting, we look forward to welcoming you to our venue for the return leg.

MVC Summer Champs 2024: Final Showdown Anticipation

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The 20th August saw the penultimate MVC Summer Champs event of 2024….. and another 18 players turning up to strut their volleyballing stuff on the fields of the historic Mote Park.

We saw early season leader Gareth return to form, outscoring leader board contenders Lewis and Archie. A strong net presence and back court passing saw Arnis grab the joint top spot for the event scoring 123 points. And a very spirited effort from Harper, who let no one stand in their way of also scoring the joint most points for the day!*

*Thankfully, no parental spectators were seriously hurt in the greyhound like efforts of ball chasing….

The weather looks be on the side of the brave this evening, as we see in the final event to crown our 2024 summer champs. With only 100 points between 1st and 4th position, everything is to play for, and none of the top 4 will be on the same team, so we are hoping to see theorectical fireworks.

But, Kudos today goes to Jorden, who has consistently remained among the top scorers at every event, showing that experience really does count for a lot when it comes to winning matches, through smart play, great team work, or just shear luck. He is now our a new leader, and surely is in pole position to take it over the line…

MVC Volleyball Event Recap: Thrilling Matches, Weather Challenges, and Leaderboard Updates

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For the first time in quite a few weeks, the rain looked threatening, but that did not deter this bunch of weather hardy players!

A tent was set up for valuables, two courts were erected, and players started getting ready.

Pre team selection, chatter was rife with who may be leading after this week, with the absence of the championship leader Gareth….

The first match, as always, was a 6 v 6 affair, with an even split down the leader board for players, it showed when the match finished a nail biting 23-24, those on team 2 getting a single point advantage over their fellow players.

The arrival of 3 players brought the return to 4 v 4, and we enlisted the all powerful random team selection machine, otherwise known as ‘The Chair’….

There was a notable performance from some of the shorter players, moving about and picking up more balls than normal, negating some of the taller players tactics.

And then…came…the….rain…!!! Thankfully it was only a light drizzle, so was still playable with a little caution and a keen eye on the surface.

Even with some players seemingly ignoring coaches advice to only bump set, confident in their water based setting skills…. this then brought about an onslaught of handling errors, most noticed in the 3rd match between team 1 and team 2, with a 13-28 victory!

The weather dried up for matches 4, 5 & 6, but the light reduced. We are not sure if this is due to the earlier setting of the sun, darker clouds looming overhead, or the apparent mass of gnats or mosquitos blocking out the sun in search of the juiciest skin….

There were some notable performances throughout the evening, with a special congratulations for Harper for gaining the highest score of the evening at 151, 7 points more than 2nd highest scorer – also thank you for keeping the scores in your game as well Harper 🙂

The average scores per match for this week were 19.83 at lowest, and 25.16 at highest.

Our most notable movers in the top of the table this week were Gareth, dropping from the lofty heights of 1st down to 5th after missing this event, and Kenny moving all the way up to 4th. She is now the leading female, but also in contention of taking the overall title, being only 89 points from the lead!

With Jorden managing to outscore Archie by 17 points this week, it has moved him up into 3rd, 2 points behind Archie in 2nd place.

Our new leader this week, for the 2nd time, and scoring the second highest amount for this week, is Lewis. An impressive 144 this week moves him into 1st place on 716 points, 44 points clear of the lead.

What will happen next week? Can Gareth reclaim his position at the top? Can Archie beat his old coach, can Jorden prove the value of experience? Or will Kenny or Harper come rattling through to contest the lead? Only time will tell!

Exciting Summer Volleyball Recap: New Players, Standout Performances, and Leaderboard Tightening

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With the day bringing some very light drizzle, the early evening clouds overheard were mixed with a threat of rain and some bright sunshine shining through.

3 nets were ready, but some randomly missing net lines meant only two could be put up. The brave decision was made to alter the layout of the courts (which for anyone who chased a ball down the slope will undoubtedly agree it won’t be repeated…).

The players arrived and started warming up, and the first round teams were set.

The day saw another great turnout, maxing at 21 players. There were ‘crowds*’ all around, and even a fly-by from the Mote Park Model Plane Club!

(*crowds being 3 parents, some geese, some passers by and dog walkers…)

We saw another new player Matt come into the fold, narrowly missing out on the top 30 on the leader board, but a great start none the less.

Some standout performances to note:

  • Kenny (now the leading women’s player at 5th overall, even missing the 1st round of games) .
  • Gareth, Jorden, Phil and Sonny all managing to exceed the 130 point mark.
  • Gareth had the highest average points per game this at 21.83, but missed the final round.
  • The dog that invaded the pitch during set-up.

Our highest scorer this week though, bringing with her some regional experience and youthful energy, was Izzy. Scoring a massive 142 points today, from consistent serving and passing, and some very smart play at the net.

When notified of this achievement, she repsonded:

“Ah that’s amazing, thank you!! Had so much fun yesterday”

With only 3 more scheduled events this summer, things could still move around:

  • The top 4 all being within 55 points, a 3 point lead in each game may see the leader change hands.
  • A missed event will also see people further down the board have a chance to come back, with an average score of 117 per event…

Who will challenge Gareth after his 2nd week leading the championship?

Who will get the green highlighter to show they scored the most?

Who will trip over something and pretend it didn’t happen as they search for anyone who might have seen it?

Will the weather hold out? Join us in the park, spectators welcome 🙂