Recreational League teams took to the courts at Bell’s Sports Centre on 
Sunday evening for the opening fixtures of the new season with the three new teams having mixed fortunes. Kinross teams were much to the fore in the early stages with all four in action at the start of the evening. Adam Sweeney’s Kinross BB Girls’ Association side opened against Fiona Wilkie and her Mongrels. The BB GA side were boosted by the inclusion of Connor Boyle with Jill McLachlan making her debut for Mongrels who were without Steve Young through injury. The BB side stormed the first set winning 25-10 but the second set was more closely contested with a 25-20 scoreline in favour of the BB GA side. Rory Muir’s Kinross High School side were on action on the other court against Les and his new side Eagles. The Eagles were dominant in the first set winning 25-16 but again the second set saw the Kinross youngsters come more into things and they were slightly unlucky to go down 24-26 in the second set to give Eagles a victory to start their season in style. Mongrels were next in action against Chris Robison’s Dunfermline with the Fifers having just a little more fire power to down Mongrels 25-16; 25-13. League Cup winners Kinross BB opened their league campaign against local rivals Kinross High School and the BB side taught the High School lads a lesson with a 25-8; 25-26 win. John Booth’s Kinross BB then met their younger members in the BB GA which was an interesting encounter. The BB side won the first set 25-18 but found themselves behind for a spell in the second set before finding their form to win 25-21. The Dunfermline versus Eagles fixture was a very close affair with the Fifers edging the first set 25-21. The second set was almost a reversal of this scoreline with Eagles holding set point at 24-21 when the full time whistle sounded – the closest thing to a draw you will ever get. The second half of the evening saw the remaining six sides meet and it was newcomers’ Hits & Giggles led by Jayne McCafferty and Andrew Stewart’s sides who met first. Hits & Giggles proved too strong for Andrew’s young side winning 25-8; 25-14. On the other court Susan Scott’s See Me met Ian McGrath’s Motley Crew with See Me starting with a screamer dumping Crew to a 25-10; 25-15 defeat. Hits and Giggles then met Stuart Anderson’s Hitting Bricks and this game turned out to go the full distance and into a third set.
Hits & Giggles took Bricks by surprise carrying on the momentum from their earlier victory and sealed the first set with a narrow 25-22 win. The second set saw Bricks come storming back to level the game 25-10 requiring a third set decider. The opening exchanges were fairly even but Bricks edged ahead to lead 10-6 at the final whistle. Anne Condliffe and her Tay Pearls opened their league account against Andrew’s Team and were slightly sluggish in the first set but still proved too strong for Andrew’s Team winning 25-19; 25-11. Pearls followed this up with a second straight win against Motley Crew 25-19; 25-20 to see them top equal after the first round of games. Local rivals See Me and Hitting Bricks faced each other next and See Me came out on top this time round winning 25-10; 25-15 for them also to finish level at the top with Tay Pearls and Kinross BB.
Coaching Sessions
Kinross Community Campus is hosting a “Family Fun Day” this Saturday with Kinross Volleyball Club having a free “come and try” open session from 12 noon till 2 pm for anyone interested in starting this fantastic fun team sport. No previous knowledge required just come along to the Campus with tee shirt, shorts and trainers. This session is open to any age group from primary children through to adults both male and female. Perth Volleyball Club coaching sessions resume at the North Inch Campus this Monday evening from 7:15 till 9:15 with ex- Scottish International player Iain Cook leading the popular sessions which are open to club members and newcomers alike.
Dave