🏐 West London is the place to be as IBB Polonia take on Sheffield Hallam in the final round of matches of the 2021/2022 Volleyball England Super League season. First serve is at 4.30pm and spectating is free.
CONGRATULATIONS to IBB Polonia on a great 2021/2022 season which was them compete in Europe and – on the domestic front – finish fifth in the Men’s Super League. The latter despite being without many of their senior players due to visa issues and having to rely on young players from their Pro Volley Academy. Stay tuned here for news of the 2022/2023 campaign which starts in the autumn – IBB Polonia’s opening fixture will appear here as soon as published.
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It’s London v Sheffield this afternoon in the top tier of English men’s club volleyball as IBB Polonia and Sheffield Hallam look to end their respective seasons on a high at Northolt High Sports Centre. The sides have waited all season to face each other with the first encounter of their double-header scheduled for Saturday 2 April at the All Saints Sports Centre in Sheffield. In today’s return match, it will be either mission repeat or revenge.
IBB Polonia have blazed a trail for English volleyball in recent seasons. The premier men’s club side in the country, and reigning Super League champions from 2019 (the 2020 and 2021 domestic seasons were not completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic) made sporting history in October 2019 making a debut appearance in the CEV Champions League 2020. IBB Polonia acquitted themselves admirably in the 2019/2020 edition of the world’s premier volleyball club competition, knocked out by Croatian champions Mladost Zagreb at the Copper Box Arena (highlights below).
This season IBB Polonia have again competed in Europe, however all their matches have been away from home due to the pandemic. Meanwhile visa issues have left Polonia without many of their senior players for the domestic Super League (introduction below) season. While this has seen the west London side unable to mount a title challenge it has enabled them to blood a host of young players from their Pro Volley Academy gaining invaluable experience for the future.
The BT Sport cameras have also been following the IBB Polonia action as part of a monthly series throughout 2022. “The Volleyball Show” is airing on BT Sport and Episode 1 can be viewed here on the IBB Polonia Facebook page.
Back to this afternoon’s action and it’s all about Super League bragging rights as IBB Polonia and Sheffield Hallam take to the court for the last time this season. Will Polonia give their passionate home fans a Super League win, or will Hallam take the points with them back up the M1? Don’t miss this opportunity to find out and watch elite level volleyball up close and personal in west London.
🏐 First serve is at 4.30pm. Warm up starts at 4pm.
🎟️ Spectating is free.
🚊🚗 Travel tips: Use this map link for directions to Northolt High Sports Centre which is marked (note the sports centre is part of the Northolt High School campus). The nearest station is Northolt tube station on the London Underground, just a few minutes walk from the venue. A Central Line station it’s accessible directly from Oxford Circus, Notting Hill Gate and West Ruislip. The nearest overground station is Northolt Park, a 10/15 minute walk, on the Chiltern Railways line accessible from Marylebone Station. Use the Transport for London website to plan your journey. If driving, on-street parking is available on surrounding roads subject to local parking restrictions.
About the Super League: The Volleyball England Super League is the top division in the National Volleyball League (NVL) which comprises of four divisions for both men and women. Namely the National Super League, National Division 1, National Division 2 (North & South) and National Division 3 (North, South & Central). The NVL is the top volleyball competition in England for clubs.
The Super League was launched in 2018 to replace the Super 8s as the top club tier for volleyball in England. The men’s and women’s Super Leagues are played in a split-league system. All teams will play each other once, before the division splits into two halves. The top half then will play each other twice for positions one to five, while the bottom half will play each other twice to compete for sixth to tenth position in the league. The team which finishes bottom will be relegated while the team in ninth will face a play-off against the team which finishes second in NVL division one. Points won in the first half of the season will carry over into each team’s total points tally. However, teams from the bottom half cannot overtake teams from the top half.
The Super League men’s teams for season 2021/2022 are Durham Palatinates, IBB Polonia London, Leeds Gorse, Malory Eagles UEL, Newcastle Staffs, Richmond Docklands, Sheffield Hallam, Team Sunderland, Tendring (Essex)
(Super League information courtesy of the Volleyball England website).
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