UCD Volleyball Women lose out on Varsity final, Men arrive joined third

Last week, UCD competed in the 2009 All-Ireland Intervarsities, hosted by University College Cork. Every year, the competition sees Ireland's colleges square off on a volleyball court over a three-day tournament, with the winning teams being offered a much coveted place in the EVA Student Cup in Leeds.
This year's Men's Varsities team, under UCD Men's head coach Megan Burgdorf, once again found itself ahead of the competition, stealing early victories from Cork IT and the Royal College of Surgeons on the first day, which left the UCD Men with one game against an impressive looking UCC team on the morning of the second day. Leading the offence with an impressive amount of kills and blocks were experienced players Oisin McArdle and Thomas Holz. It was Donald Whoriskey, though, who secured both wins for UCD with an extraordinary serving streak in both matches. The kick-off match on day two with UCC was lead by the tournament's most valuable hitter, Canadian wing player Matt Carere, who inflicted a sound defeat upon the UCD Men's team.
Having arrived second in their pool, and consequently securing a place in the play-offs for the cup, UCD Men were set to play UUJ, Queens, RCSI and UCC, with the last team in the group being the only one to miss out on the cup semi-finals. UCD Men stormed through their first match, comfortably beating the Surgeons. Leading the way were defenders Tom Schwarzl and Ali Jarboui. Both new to the Varsities experience, both played as though they had many caps under their belt, letting few balls go untouched! UCD still faced the hardest line-up of teams ahead, and, though losing both games to UCC and UUJ, put up an impressive battle, dropping the second set against UCC by the smallest of margins (25-27), with a lot of credit to UCD's setter Georgio Caonva, who not only fooled
the opposition with his offence but also set a few nice blocks.
Concluding the play offs was a match-up with Queens University where UCD played their best game yet and proudly stole a set from the cup finalists. As Holz said, "We were playing absolutely unbelievable!"

Upon reaching the semi-finals, UCD once again were faced with UUJ, however, this time UCD had Miguel Magno, the only Premier league player in the team. The Portuguese's consistent passing and early offence helped keep UUJ at bay. Alas, it was not to last long as the experienced Northerners would become soundly victorious and went on to win the title. UCD, meanwhile, finished a great weekend tied for third place with hosts UCC.

The Women's Varsity team, led by UCD Women's head coach Laurent Cauet, had to live up to great expectations, with a historic run of seven consecutive titles that was only broken last year by long-term rivals UCC. Like all tournaments, the first game is very important, setting the pace and confidence for the team. UCD did very well, winning 2-0 against Cork IT, with a large score difference and the Dublin side always in control of the match. For the second game, UCD faced a strong UUJ team but won the first set, thanks to some powerful serves making the difference. The second set was again very tight (26-24) but UCD performed well under pressure and won the match 2-0 again. In the afternoon, RCSI, the third game of the day, proved a lot trickier as fatigue began to set in. Nonetheless, the team managed to stay focused and to not drop any sets, making the game another 2-0 victory and a perfect three out of three wins on day one. On day two, the first match of the day saw UCD square off against last year's winner UCC. Only a win would see UCD finish first and, consequently, ensure an easier semi-final against the fourth team of the other pool. But UCC had a great start, with UCD chasing the Cork side all the way. Despite improving noticeably near the end of the second set, UCD lost 2-0. The next match pitted them against UCC's second team, who were playing outside the competition. Coach Cauet decided to push
the team organisation and get player's to step outside their comfort
zone by changing people's role on court. The risky strategy was not only successful, with the UCD side winning 2-0, but also proved a very positive learning process, even if players got confused at times.

Saturday morning then, UCD were up against UUJ again, this time for a place in the final. This game was going to be UCD's big achievement, as the players overcame their own mental limits and considerably raised their level of play. UCD lead most of the first set but didn't manage to close it, and UUJ inched away with a last minute effort (24-26). But the Dublin side managed to brush aside the disappointing result and won the second set 25-17 by playing some excellent volleyball. In the third set, UUJ got an early lead right from the start at 00-03. But UCD didn't give up. Instead, they found a way to fight back and to turn the situation completely on its head, winning the tie break soundly 15-06 and opening
the doors to the final. But the team spent a lot of energy in qualifying for the final, especially in the morning. They tried very hard and gave it their very best but UCC's players were stronger and better organised. Only in the second set did UCD create a bit of trouble on the other side of the net but not consistent enough to take the set. In the end, the Cork side won 3-0 but UCD visibly enjoyed the final and, indeed, the tournament. UCC is a deserved champion for this year and UCD will come back to challenge them again next season.

In the words of coach Cauet: “As a group and as a volleyball team it was great experience. We enjoyed ourselves on and off the volleyball court and we managed to play some excellent volleyball rallies, going beyond our limits. But most of all, it was 3 days of fraternity and friendship and at the end of the day, that's what sport is all about.”