Volleyballers upbeat despite home defeat
By Tim Williams
Oxford 0, Loughborough 3
With a brand new team still introducing themselves to each other during the warm-up, the University women’s volleyball first team were thrown right into the deep end – facing a strong Loughborough team who won 3-0 on Wednesday 1st week.
Despite having just two hours of training together, compared to Loughborough’s many, the result hid a decent challenge by Oxford, including a 19-25 result in the third set.
The difference in experience between the two sides ultimately told and, given this was the first match of their BUCS season, Oxford’s W1 were placed bottom of the league with their conquerors top.
Oxford’s captain Karo Lada refused to let the meaningless table position dampen her delight at seeing her new side play for the first time.
“As captain I actually didn’t feel like I’d lost; I feel like I’ve won a new team,” she said.
“It was almost comical, we were still introducing ourselves during the warm-up.”
She added: “Loughborough gave us a deep-end challenge and although we lost it was not without a fantastic and pride-inspiring fight, and the last match was a very reasonable 19-25… We demonstrated solidarity, a supportive spirit, and excellent sporting potential. Stay tuned for team transformation before your eyes…”
Oxford had a chance to bump up their league position against Warwick this Wednesday – the first of a string of three consecutive away matches. The week after, they face big rivals Cambridge before the return fixture at Loughborough.
PHOTO/ DINO
