Richmond Docklands the five-set kings
For the second Saturday in a row Richmond Docklands travelled to Essex and returned to west London with two points after a hard fought five-set victory. This weekend they faced newly promoted Tendring at the University of Essex.
A much changed squad saw coach Luis Bello give Super League debuts to Tom Ridge and new signing Rob Nicholson. Both had a tough battle with Tendring’s strong middle blockers in a pulsating and lively match. The first two sets both finished 30-28 with one set going to each side.
In set three, Tendring managed to take another tight set 25-23 before Richmond recovered to tie the match 2-2 with a 25-22 fourth set win.
A strong run of serves by Dorian Pionc helped Richmond take a 5-1 lead in set five and the visitors changed ends 8-5 up. However, Tendring managed to turn it around and took a 9-8 lead. The scores remained tight until Tendring were penalised for their second time delay with a red card when the score was 15-15. Richmond took advantage to take the set 18-16 on their third match point.
That was Richmond Docklands’ fourth away Super League match in a row and Bello’s team now have five consecutive home matches at Kingston Arena. They start with a double header weekend on 2nd/3rd November against champions Polonia on Saturday followed by Newcastle Staffs on Sunday.
Black Knight: Julian Marcon
Docklands MVP: Julian Marcon
Tendring MVP: Jon Wheaton
On Sunday Richmond men’s London League team also took on Oynx in the Men’s Premier league. In a repeat of last season’s title decider Richmond ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.
