Volleyball Sports Section

Annual Reports

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2005 top

By Secretary DC Michelle Barras

PSUK Volleyball Championships

10 & 11 September 2005 – Aberdeen

This years Championships were hosted by Grampian Police and held in the city of Aberdeen.  11 Forces took part in what was an excellent tournament.   

Nine Forces entered a team in the Ladies Competition. Lancashire were in Pool 1 together with Grampian, Merseyside, Essex and Lothian & Borders.  Pool 2 consisted of Strathclyde, Metropolitan, Northeast (Northumbria & Humberside) & Sussex.

Our first game was at 9.15am on the Saturday against Essex.  Lancashire soon took control of the game, with excellent serving by Liene Nowell & Sue Harrison.  The final score was 2-0 to Lancashire.  We had got our first win, and Julie Peter was voted player of the match.

Following a 40 minute break we then took on the Mersey Blues.  Just the thought of facing Merseyside, who in the past have been known to be one of the major teams in these championships made us quake in our boots.  Once the game started we soon realised that they had a weaker side than usual, and capitalised on this.  The match was won.

We then had a three hour wait until our next game where we faced the mighty Grampian.  Although they were one of the strongest teams in these championships we fought hard, with excellent blocking by Michelle Barras and Sarah Snowdon, but lost 0-2.  This was our day done.  The team had played well.  The girls had served, blocked and attacked well. 

The following day there was one pool game still to be played.  So at 9.15 on the Sunday morning, we took to the court to face Lothian & Borders.  Sadly we did not start this day as we had finished on the Saturday.  Serving was poor, but we battled on with some good teamwork, and won 2-0.  This put us in second place in the pool and we were through to the semi final.

In the semi final our opponents were the Metropolitan Police – another great team.  We went on court, heads held high, and ready to battle.  We soon settled into our play, however, the Metropolitan attackers we too quick for our blockers.  We lost the first set 25-9.  We came off court determined to do better.  The second set started and we fought hard.  Serving was good, loose balls were picked up and attacks were made.  With some great defending at the net by Jayne Ashton, we gave them a fright.  Then they did what they do best played 3 touch volleyball, and their spikers hit some excellent balls. We lost that set 25-19.

The Metropolitan Police went on to win the Championships by beating Grampian in the final.

 Lancashire -v-  Essex    2 - 0

 Lancashire –v- Merseyside 2 - 0

 Lancashire –v- Grampian 0 - 2

 Lancashire –v- Lothian & Borders 2 – 0

 Lancashire –v- Metropolitan 0 – 2    Semi Final

Lancashire Men unfortunately did not do as well as the ladies.  The Men’s competition is of a high standard, but the lads fought hard, did their best and eventually won one match.  This was a steep learning curve for them, and they were determined to continue to improve once back home.   We have continued to train each Wednesday since and entered teams in the Lancashire Volleyball League.  Come September 06 the Championships will see a much improved men’s team.

2004 top

By Secretary DC Andy Edwards

This years PSUK Championships were held in Essex at the Five Lakes complex. The Constabulary entered a Mens and Ladies teams.

The men's team saw some experienced players returning to the fold in Jason Moore (Central Division) and Mick Walkden (Motorway). They joined up with Jon Molloy (Central Div), Eammon Spencer (Central Division), Ian Halstead (Southern Division) and newcomer to the squad Sam Martland (Motorway). Despite some spirited performances they were unable to progress through to the final stages but gave a good account of themselves.

The ladies team led by Sue Harrison ( G Division) built on their ever improving displays from the previous year and in a close run Plate Final emerged victorious beating Essex 2 sets to 1. It was the consistent service of Sue that was a decisive factor and the ever improving Sarah Snowdon (SDC training) also made a big impact. These factors added to the experience and talent of Julie Peter (Eastern Division), Michelle Barrass (Northern Division), Liene Nowell (Southern Division) and Rachel Freeman (Eastern Division) saw the team through to what was a well deserved and hard earned
victory.

Next Year competition sees the team travelling to Scotland. Anyone interested in training and playing please contact Team manager Andy Edwards on 07813328476 or Player/Coach Sue Harrison on Ext 412743.

2003 top

By Secretary DC Andy Edwards

Lancashire Constabulary Men's and Ladies teams gave a decent account of themselves in the PAA Championships in Leeds.

The men's team entered for the first time in some while and a mixture of youth and experience saw the performances steadily improve, the highlight being a hard fought victory against Northumbria on the final day.

Following an early injury on the first day to Eamonn Spencer (Central Division) manager Andy Edwards (G Div) came out of retirement to add his experience and bulk!! to the team. As the tournament progressed Dave Asbridge (Central) used his physical presence to dominate at the net, the youthful exuberance of Anthony Jenkins and Paul Whitehead (both Central) saw them covering the court and returning balls when the points looked to be lost. This coupled with the guiding influence of Captain Jon Molloy (Eastern) and Nic Dumphries (Cumbria) saw the team grow in confidence and by the end of the second day the improvement was noticeable.

The ladies team saw a number of new faces making their first appearances in the tournament, Sarah Snowdon, Anne Lupton and Nikki Bignell (All SDC) were guided through by experienced campaigners Sue Harrison (G Div) and Michelle Barras (Northern Div). Esther Coates (Cumbria) joined them and again throughout the tournament their confidence and expertise grew. Liene Nowell (Southern Div) who cheered them on from the sidelines having been injured in pre tournament training ably supported them. Sarah Snowdon showed determination and not a little skill as by the end of the second day she showed the importance of dominating at the net. Sue Harrison showed her class with fine, all round displays and the exuberance of the newcomers was a pleasure to see. Again the ladies waited until their final game of the tournament to register a well-deserved victory.

Next year sees the tournament hosted by the Metropolitan Police at the Five Lakes Complex in Essex.

Anyone interested in playing or attending training sessions should contact Andy Edwards Ext 412277 or Sue Harrison Ext 412143

2002 top

No report received

2001 top

By Secretary Andy Edwards

In the 2001 PAA Tournament in Merseyside the women's team won the 'Ladies Plate'.

Sue Harrison represented the British Police in both the Inter-Services Tournament and England Police International.