Teams from the Northumbria/Middlesbrough College volleyball factory represent the north east in 3 of the 4 finals at Kettering on Saturday 29th March. First up is the academy team who play in the Shield Final against Hornbeam from Portsmouth. Currently second in Division 2 South and looking for promotion, they will be hoping to prove a point against the academy boys who are fighting for survival in Division 1. The womens Shield follows with Loughborough Students and Plymouth Marjon in opposition then, at 4.00 pm, Team Northumbria women, nicknamed the "invincibles", are hoping to maintain their two-year unbeaten record by retaining the top knock-out competition in English womens volleyball when they take on London docklands side Swiss Cottage. The final match of the day could turn out to be the most closely contested when the top two mens teams in the country go head to head for the National Knock-out Cup. Northumbria were caught out last year when Wessex, then a division below TN, caused a shock by beating the Super 8 regular season winners at this stage. However, TN have come out on top in both league matches this season and are favourites to claim the trophy although they certainly cant take anything for granted and will need to be at their best to ensure they get their name on the trophy.
12.00 Shield Final (men): Northumbria / Middlesbrough Academy versus Hornbeam
16.00 Cup Final (women): Team Northumbria versus Swiss Cottage
18.00 Cup Final (men): Team Northumbria versus Wessex LeAF
Tickets cost £10 (concessions £5) and can be purchased from the Volleyball England website:
www.volleyballengland.org.uk