Against all odds

City of Bristol’s NVL Ladies travelled to Plymouth on Sunday for a crucial bottom of the league table clash, knowing a win was vital to keep their survival hopes alive.

With injuries and player unavailability hitting the squad, the team contacted Volleyball England earlier in the week to complete an emergency registration. Michela Turro stepped up from the South West team and made her National League debut.

City of Bristol started strong, with a run of powerful serves from Mihaela Bachvarova helping them take the first set convincingly, 25-15. The second set was tightly contested, with Plymouth edging it 26-24 to level the match. Refocusing well, COB rallied as a team to claim the next two sets 25-18 and 25-15, sealing a hugely important victory despite having only the bare six players.

It was a tremendous team effort in difficult circumstances, with MVP honours going to Mihaela Bachvarova.