Stirling men’s volleyball team qualified for the second round of the BUCS National Trophy after a 3-0 win against St Andrews 1s.
On Wednesday, November 22, both Stirling volleyball teams played the first round of the National Trophy, an in-or-out tournament between universities across the whole country.
In Edinburgh, the women’s team suffered an unfortunate loss for 3-0 against Heriot-Watt University.
The mood was brighter in Stirling, where the men’s team scored their first victory after a hard-fought game with St Andrews.
The game ended in three sets for the home team, who had a good start winning the first set 25-13.
They continued to keep the lead during the second set, and finished 25-23 after going head-to-head for the whole time.
A final comeback saw Stirling take the match home, who went from 16-22 to 26-24 in a very tense end of game.
Captain Nikita Rogozins said, “We came into this game knowing our ability and believing that we are more than capable to make it,”
“I think this win will give the boys some confidence. Some promising performances can go a long way in giving people beliefs for next games”.
Newcastle awaits in the next round.
The second round of the Trophy will see Stirling face Newcastle University in another difficult but exciting home game.
“It will be an interesting opportunity to play against Newcastle,” Rogozins continued.
“They are clearly a strong opponent, but this will give us an opportunity to learn and show exactly how good we can be”.
Newcastle University is currently in first place in BUCS men’s Northern Tier 1. They qualified to the next round with a 3-0 victory against the University of Liverpool.
“Newcastle University is definitely going to be a challenge for us,” added vice-captain and social secretary Ethan Polatajko.
“We’re up for the challenge and we are optimistic to beat them. It will definitely be a good game with a university we’ve never played before.”
The two teams will play in Stirling at the beginning of the semester on January 31, 2024.
Feature image credits: Thibault Falet
She/Her, Journalism and Film & Media student at the University of Stirling
