Match Reports - Women

Mets v Dundee (Home) 29 Mar 08

 

Coach Mark Hudson had always planned on giving court time to the 4 mini-mets graduating from U16, but this luxury became a necessity when setter Chrissie Mahon injured her ankle in the warm up and had to be taken for X-Rays. The rest of the Mets team looked shaken by the loss of their treasured setter.

 

It was left to Amanda Burke and Jennifer Mulraine to fill the setter roles, having to quickly step up from U16 JNL to Div 1 National League. Amanda settled quickly into the first set and played an outstanding game, establishing strong middle attacks with Carly McKinley and Rowena McGowan and making good use of pipe attack from a solid Fiona Smith. In all cases, the more experienced Mets players dug deep to give the younger players time to settle on court. Alison Lambie in particular gave excellent coverage behind the block and Fiona Welsh swept up many stray balls with enough height to give the younger setters plenty of time to get into position. In both cases, Alison and Fiona also made sure their own hits counted. Mets steadily won the first set 25-16.

 

The 2nd set saw some changes with Jennifer swapping for Amanda in the setting position. Carley Charyk linked well with the young setter to hit several winning shots through middle and Diane Leslie also joined court to provide another strong middle hitter. Jillian Galloway continued Alison’s defence behind the block and added her own strong hitting to the points. Keeping things fresh, Katie Hiddleston replaced Fiona Smith and maintained Fiona’s strong hitting and passing record through this position. 25-23 Mets.

 

The 3rd set saw the last of the 4 min-mets, Gail McMillan join the court, with a mature and well-rounded performance. Dundee however, returned to court with a renewed sense of purpose and some strong serving start to crack the Mets receiving unit. Despite pulling back into game, Mets lost this one 25-20.

 

The 4th set started consistently and again saw Katie deliver some blistering hits. Play, however, changed direction when Alison Lambie stepped up at 8-5 to deliver an outstanding 11 point run of serves (which almost excuses the beanie bears!!) taking Mets up to 19. Not risking any chance of complacency, solid defending and hitting by the rest of the team saw the Mets girls win the final set and the final match of the season. This will see them end a very difficult season in 5th or 6th place

 

All that was left was for a badly limping, but smiling Chrissie to return with an all-clear on X-rays. That allowed her and Jill plenty of opportunity to play with the Mets bears during the later matches.

 

Mets v NLVC (Home) 23Feb08

 

In an effort to prove their talent, the pressure was on for a Mets win against the North Lanarkshire girls and avenge the defeat from the first half of the season.

The set started poorly, with a very uneasy looking Mets side quickly finding themselves behind the North girls and only then able to trade points on service. However, not to be panicked, Mets started to settle, with Fiona Smith starting to take responsibility for mid-court tips played in from NLVC. Setter Chrissie Mahon again proved her mobility, picking up stray passes and regaining control of the Mets attack. This provided the much needed calming influence that slowed the ball on the  Mets side, allowing Alison Lambie and Fiona Welsh to start driving home some powerful attacks which pulled Mets back to win the set 25-21.

The second set saw a consolidation of the calmer plays, allowing Mets to really start extending a lead, with Chrissie starting the set with 6 point run of serves. More settled passing allowed Chrissie to make effective use of Carly McKinley hitting through 3. Carly again providing strong receiving when taking her turn back court, allowing Rowena McGowan to hit effectively on the front court rotation. Fionas Smith and Welsh providing powerful hitting through the other positions. Another huge run of serves from Chrisse at the close of the set resulted in a 25-8 win.

The third set allowed captain Jill Galloway and Katie Hidldeston to settle into some strong hitting, with Carly Charyk using her height at the middle net to deny any middle attacks form North. With several of the current batch of mini-Mets approaching their age limits for junior competition, it was a chance to give Amanda Burke her first taste of action as a setter in the Women’s National League. She acquitted herself well with a relaxed looking and mature performance, which all helped the Mets girls win the final set 25-20.

 

After a difficult season, this hopefully gives the girls and coach Mark Hudson something that  starts to give them confidence in the abilities they’ve had all along, as individuals and as a team, but had yet to see reflected in some earlier scores.

 

Mets  vs Troon (Away)

 

The Mets girls got off to a slow start against a strong Troon side, however they settled through the middle of the first set thanks to some strong back court hitting from Alison Lambie and Katie Hiddleston. A late run of points for Troon, however won the set.

Mets returned to court for the second set with real fight and from the start continued to extend their lead. Setter Chrissie Mahon as ever showed outstanding agility in making overhead passes from the lowest of balls. This helped slow the play on the Mets side of the net to allow the hitters time to find the optimal attacks. Katie maintained her strong hitting and added a good run of points from a powerful serve, while Rowena McGowan proved an effective defense at the net. The team connected well as a unit, with Chrissie continuing to show good judgement on the the choice of plays. Fiona Welsh had consistent and very effective hitting, not only in this set, but throughout the entire match. A good fighting spirit meant Mets deservedly took the 2nd set.

This spirit remained at the start of the 3rd set allowing Mets to take an early lead, but they began to fade when Troon tightened their midcourt defence. After a run of points for Troon,  a well-timed substitution brought Fiona Smith on court. Her solid receiving and consistently strong hitting revitalised Mets. Carly McKinlay had a good run of points on serve, then followed this up with solid serve receive, helping to keep Mets level to 18. Despite the height of Carly Charyk at the net, a late run of points won Troon the set.

The final set saw Troon build on their strengths, but Mets again had bursts of outstanding play, with particularly strong hitting from Jillian Galloway. It had been very close all the way, leaving all the Mets girls with a lot to feel positive about.