Category: Leagues

Richmond Men’s first home double header of the season provided mixed results for Docklands and Bucks.

Richmond Docklands returned to winning ways with another 3-0 (19, 18, 24) victory this time over visitors Leeds Gorse.  Leeds are yet to win in the Super League but they’re still a strong side and made Marcel Sivak’s side work for their win.  The winning point was fittingly scored by former Leeds player Vaidas Audickas with a service ace.

Richmond Bucks tie with London Aces followed and a seesaw battle eventually went the way of Aces 3-2 (13-25, 25-18, 12-25, 30-28, 15-9).  Bucks were left to rue letting a 2-1 lead go along with match points in set four.  An injury to Peter Soczewka in the fourth set dented Buck’s chances but Liam Corcoran stepped in to provide able cover.  Bucks should still be proud of what they achieved – at one point the average age of their passing unit was 15.5!

Richmond’s men’s division enjoyed three National League victories at the weekend with Bucks moving to the top of the Div 1 table.

Richmond Docklands travelled to Colchester for their third away Super League fixture in a row to take on Tendring. Coached by ex-Docklands player Alex Porter, Tendring were no match for Marcel Sivak’s side who ran out 3-0 winners (23, 16, 12). Captain Andrea Ivanov led the way and was unstoppable on the wing and from the service line. The self-styled Bulgarian Barbarian was awarded the Black Knight for his performance but honourable mentions go to new libero Filipi Rodrigues and opposite David Novotny who made telling contributions throughout the match. Docklands ended the weekend in second place in the table.

At the same time, Richmond Bucks hosted City of Bristol at the Kingston College Arena and also secured an impressive 3-0 victory (16, 12, 18). Italian debutants Martino Selleri and Saimir Hysa had excellent starts to their Richmond careers whilst juniors Mateusz Bobkowski, Jake Sanders and Peter Soczewka have all made a seamless transition to this level.

On Sunday, Bucks made the long journey to face Manchester Marvels 1 and again came away with a 3-0 win (20, 25, 23). Travelling with only eight players, Peter Soczewka’s team battled hard to gain a much-deserved victory. After just three matches, Bucks are top of the table and are the only undefeated team in the division. Fantastic work guys.

A comprehensive 3-0 win (12, 14, 14) for Richmond Docklands against Afghan VC (AVC London) saw Marcel Sivak’s side coast into round 3 of the cup.  In the next round they will face Weymouth Beach VC on Saturday 13th November at Kingston College Arena.

The match marked a third Docklands’ “debut” for Bruno Lusic who has returned to the squad after two spells with the team in 2012 and 2017.  He formed a powerful partnership with fellow outside hitter Vitor De Oliveira and AVC had no answer.  De Oliveira was awarded the Black Knight award for a dominate display.