Stirling University Volleyball claims top-four spot in Scottish Plate after winning both quarter-final matches.
Both our men’s and women’s teams defeated their opponents with a 3-0 win against Aberdeen Storm and a 3-2 win against the University of Dundee, respectively.
Starting out with 16 teams in both brackets, the Scottish Plate allows all volleyball clubs in Scotland, even non-unis, to participate. Now, weeks after their first game, both teams sit at the top four spot alongside three others.
The women’s pool includes NUVOC (from Edinburgh), Glasgow Mets, and Dundee, whilst the men’s pool includes Dundee, Lenzie, and Forza Ragazzi (from Glasgow).
If both teams make it through the semifinals they will have the opportunity to represent Stirling University at the Scottish Plate finals in Edinburgh- an opportunity that only comes once a year. Along with this, they will also take home a medal and an inscription into the plate itself.
Men’s Captain Nikita Rogozins said, “I believe the last game of the plate was one of our better games of the season as our players were confident from the start and made very little to no errors throughout the match, stepping up to show a dominant performance. This allowed us to get ahead of the other team and never look back.
“This squad deserves to reach the finals of this competition and compete right to the end for this trophy.
“Since it would be one of our last games of the year, it would be a fantastic end of the season for the guys that are leaving us and for those who have just joined, to show them what Stirling is all about and prove that we love a cup run!”
The Scottish Plate semifinals will be hosted in Largs by Scottish Volleyball on March 9, 2024. Both teams will be playing that same day, offering each other stands full of support during this away match.
Last year, the women’s team reached the semifinals stage and were scheduled to play against Caledonia West. Unfortunately, when it came to the semi-final morning, Stirling University failed to make the correct arrangements for the MPVs, leaving the women’s team stranded in Stirling with no means of reaching Largs in time for their 9 a.m. game.
After a year of hard work and hopes to redeem themselves as strong plate competitors, reaching the semi-final stage again they are excited to put their best foot forward and try to claim a second title.
Women’s Coach, Barbara Piseroni, said she is so proud of the team: “This game was such a fantastic experience. As this is a Scottish-wide tournament I was able to join the girls and play the quarterfinal, so it was amazing to play alongside my former teammates once again and win!
“Dundee University certainly put up a good fight and didn’t make it an easy game for us– we had to fight to the very end, but it was a great feeling coming out of that game as winners. It was certainly a learning curve for us to understand how to play our best and I feel like we will be bringing this into the next game.
“We played so well together as a team and I am excited to see how we’re going to approach our next game against Glasgow Mets 2s.
“I am also very proud of our men’s team, who I coached during games if given the opportunity to, and I am excited to see how they will play in their semifinal. It would be amazing to see a double-win for Stirling this year after a tougher BUCS season.”
The men’s team will be playing beforehand at 10 a.m., with the women’s match scheduled at 5:30 p.m.
Men’s outside hitter, Ethan Polatajko, said, “I think the quarter final game went great. After travelling over 2 hours to get to Aberdeen, even though we were tired and sore, we were still excited to get playing and I think that showed with our 3-0 win.
“It’ll be a great experience to play in Largs against experienced club teams: we’re optimistic. It’ll be challenging, but no matter the outcome, it will be a good game nonetheless.”
The games will be livestreamed on the team’s facebook and instagram: @stiruni_volleyball.
Go SUVC!
Featured image credits: University of Stirling Volleyball Club
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Fourth-year Journalism Student and Sports Editor of BRIG Newspaper at Stirling University
