Volleyball: City’s tilt at trophy under pressure from injuries

City OF EDINBURGH maintained their unbeaten volleyball run in the men’s John Syer Trophy with a straight-sets win over Troon PA but they face growing pressure to hold on to their record.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Nov 2011, 11:50 BST

New Italian hitter Luca Pietrelli and home-reared Ben Hunter have both been told to rest until after Christmas after picking up knocks and Scotland internationalist Mike Penny is struggling with a back problem.

It is nothing new for City to be hit by injuries and player-coach Barry McGuigan will ask his players to dig deep in the weeks ahead.

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“The fact that the players are switching roles in the team from week to week is a credit to the skill range of each individual,” he said. “I’m sure the run of games to Christmas will test our talents further.”

City beat Troon PA for the second successive Saturday – this time 25-11, 25-18, 25-11 – to keep on course for winning the John Syer Trophy but Edinburgh Jets lost 15-25, 21-25, 26-28 at Kilmarnock Blaze.

In the women’s competition, City of Edinburgh, without influential captain Mel Coutts, were still too strong for North Lanarkshire, winning 25-22, 26-24, 25-16.

Edinburgh Jets beat local rivals NUVOC 25-5, 25-18, 25-11.