04/05 Season
Loughborough vs Milton Keynes
Date: 30-Oct-04
Score: 3-2 (22-25 28-26 25-20 21-25 12-15)

Not firing on all cylinders…

It was not a happy trip back his old University Sports Hall for setter Scott Robson, as the Milton Keynes team struggled to get their rhythm in a hard fought match.

Loughborough used their usual unsportsmen-like tactics of hitting the ball cross court in the warm-up to try and rattle the opposition - either that or the Loughborough hitters were simply incompetent! And despite the referees taking no action, it was Milton Keynes who surprisingly came out on top in the first set to take an early lead at 22-25.

Milton Keynes were under no delusion that Loughborough were a strong side and it was not going to be an easy game, especially as it became obvious that the refereeing was going to allow the Loughborough setter the grace of being able to "shadow the ball" every time he set it.

The second set typified the match; it was a keenly fought battle, with some great play from both sides. Loughborough had strength in their attack, with good first passing, and Milton Keynes had a steady all round game, with great team spirit mixed into the equation. The set was point for point all the way, until right at the end when Loughborough took the crucial points to take the set 28-26 and level the match 1-1.

Loughborough had the momentum and capitalised on this in the 3rd set, taking an early lead and maintaining at least a 3 point gap throughout. Despite Milton Keynes' effort to turn the set round, Loughborough ran away 25-20 set winners to take the lead for the first time.

Milton Keynes were determined not to go down without a fight, and fight they did. Perhaps Loughborough took their foot off the gas, but the spirit was high with Milton Keynes and they turned the tables on the home side. The set was won 21-25, setting up yet another 5th set for Milton Keynes, who have now played more sets than anyone else in the division.

It was quite obvious that Milton Keynes had, by this time, run out of energy. The very warm sports hall, combined with the hard fought match, and the fact that they were playing younger students (who have all day to train), all took their toll. The match withered into a victory for Loughborough, as the set was lost 15-12, and Loughborough took the match 3-2.

It has to be said that Milton Keynes did not deserve to win this match, as Loughborough were the stronger team on the day. The dizzy heights of top of the table may be proving a little too tough for the Milton Keynes lads, especially given the heavy regime of training for 2 hours a month! But one thing is for sure, no one will find it easy to beat Milton Keynes, and they will fight to the end.

Next match: At home on Saturday 20th November @ 15:30 vs City of Salford (Woughton Campus)

Team: Matt Almond, Simon Barton, Colin Brown, Tim Daun, Dave Goddard, Ant Moffat, Scott Robson, Kevin Smith, Andreas Whitley

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