Posts of News

Rockets celebrate at End of Season Party!

2012-05-22T12:16:15.502Z

Thank you to all the people who turned out this Sunday for the Rockets End of Season party in a slightly chilly Wollaton Park! With two courts and a picnic, it was nice to see players from all five teams, beginners and friends and family!

Well done to the following who have all been recognised for their play this season:

Senior Men’s MVP: Georg Plesser

Junior Men’s MVP: Ieuan Lamb

Women 1 – Most Improved Player – Monika Kucharska

Women 2 – Most improved Player – Alex Gockowiak

Thank you to Paul, Sian and Howard for all their hard work this season and all the hours of their free time they have given up to coach us. With two promotions and national junior runners up, we hope we gave you some good performances! J Here’s to an even more exciting 2012-2013 season!

Check out our Facebook page for more photos.

Rockets U16s - National Runners Up!

2012-05-03T13:49:11.976Z

Nottingham Rockets Juniors have had a fantastic Journey this year in the National Junior Championships. They have been battling it out against all the top Junior club sides in the country and have made excellent progress this year.

Nottingham Rockets Volleyball Club entered their outstanding Juniors into both the U16’s and the U18’s National Championships this year and they have both had outstanding success. Both teams battled their way through a total of 70+ sides to make their way through to the Last 8’s of the competition which is held at the National Volleyball Centre in Kettering.

This was the first time that the U16’s had made their way through to the last 8 so it was a new experience for them all. It was the U18’s who played first and playing excellent Volleyball they made their way through to the semi-final. This was unfortunately where their journey ended as they came up against the favourites Newcastle Staffs and couldn’t quite pull off the shock result.

The U16’s played on the Sunday and made a slow start losing to Boswells in their first game but then rallied well and improved throughout the tournament to win the rest of their games to take their place in the semi final. Coming second in their pool meant they would play against winners of the other pool Wessex in the semi final who were favourites for the title. Playing in-front of a large crowd inspired the Boys and in an amazing game, all of the team played at the top of their abilities to beat Wessex by 2 sets to nil 25 - 20, 25 - 17 to book their place in the final.

Last weekend was the Final of both competitions and Rockets made there way down to Kettering again for the U16’s Final against Boswells. In a tremendous match the young Rockets team played their hearts out but it was not quite enough for victory.

There was a sell out crowd at Kettering with 100’s of people there to cheer on the team and live streaming of the final was shown by Volleyball England to thousands of Volleyball fans across the country.

Not surprisingly then it was Boswells, who had been to the finals a number of times who made the more accomplished start. Rockets struggled to come to terms with the surroundings and the Boswells Team and got behind in the first set early on. Rockets fought back with some fantastic pick ups with Ben tomlinson making an extreme recovery and then getting up to Spike the ball for a winner. At the half way point in the set were just behind 11:13 with Ieuan Lamb and Adam Lagerberg both winning some crucial points. From then though it was Boswells who made their attacks count with Houlihan and King scoring well and their Block was giving them success. Rockets were always on the back foot defending hard for every point but not quite having enough success at the net and they lost the first set 25:18.

The second set started better for Rockets and they stormed to 5:2 Lead. Unfortunately this momentum was halted when the Boswells team made a rotation error and the game was halted for several minutes until the referees could determine the right line ups. This really effected Rockets and their defence which had started so well began to creak under the extreme pressure of the serves and hard attacks and Boswells improved again to pull away in the set to take it 25:15.

It was now or never for Rockets and a little tinkering with their line up seemed to work as they improved to put pressure back on Boswells. Rockets took an 8:7 lead into the first time out. Boswells fought back in the third set to lead 16:15 at the final technical time out. Unfortunately this was as close as Rockets could get and Boswells yet again pwered their way through to the end of the set dominating the net exchanges and winning points straight from the serve with receiving errors for rockets proving costly. This meant that Rockets lost the set 25:18 and the game 3 sets to 0.

Despite not quite hitting their best form on the day the Nottingham Boys should be very proud of their silver medals which is truly a fantastic achievement. The first time that any Junior team from Nottingham have made it through to a National Volleyball Final. Congratulations to everyone for such a fantastic effort.

The Rockets U16's Squad

Head Coach: Paul Lamb

Assistant Coach: Howard Tomlinson

Ieuan Lamb (Cap), Sam Reid (Libero), Ben Tomlinson, Adam Wake, Alex Tomlinson, Alex Hutchinson, George Smith, Adam Lagerberg

Award filled night for Rockets!

2012-05-03T13:37:52.343Z

Nottingham Rockets Volleyball Club had an award packed night this Saturday at Volleyball England’s Annual Awards Evening, held at the National Volleyball Centre, Kettering.

Head Coach Paul was awarded with the prestigious Long Service Award, given to volunteers who have made an outstanding commitment to volleyball over a period of longer than ten years. Paul picked up his award from GB Women’s Head Coach Audrey Cooper in front of over 200 other award winners and guests at the evening.

After more than 30 years of being involved in volleyball, playing, coaching and officiating it was a well deserved reward for Paul, without whom our club would simply not exist. It’s simply not possible to count the number of hours Paul has given up, the miles he has driven and the energy he has given to introduce so many people to our sport and ensure they keep enjoying playing. Paul is one of the most popular coaches in the country and it wasn’t just the Rockets table cheering loudly when he went up to collect the trophy. Thank you Paul and a HUGE congratulations!

Men 1’s Georg Plesser and Christin Pelzel from Women 1 also picked up their MVP Awards from Hall of Fame inductees Bob Smith and Ucal Ashman – and the Women’s first team received their league medals for their victory in Women 3N.

The final award of the night was the Peter Wardale trophy – awarded only to very special volunteers and this year to Board Member Brian Stalker. Peter was one of the original founders of the Loughborough / Granwood Rockets – now known of course as Nottingham Rockets! So congratulations to Brian from everyone at Rockets, many of whom didn’t know Peter personally, but continue to enjoy being a member of the club he started.

More photos and high resolution images to come soon!

2012 - 2013 League Structure Announced!

2012-04-25T20:25:31.009Z

Volleyball England have now announced the 2012-2013 league structure for the new NVL season and it’s all change for the three Rockets squads.

Men 1, now promoted to Division 1, face a completely new set of opponents aside from Danes Watford who gained automatic promotion from Division 2 North. Their opponents are relegated Super 8s side Sheffield, home of the GB Development programme, Birmingham, three London sides – Docklands, Lynx 2 and Knights LSVC, Wessex BU, Tendring and Boathouse Dewsbury. All opponents will be very tricky, especially a resurgent Birmingham and a Sheffield side keen to make an immediate return to the top division.

Men 2 welcome several new teams into their Division, Div 3N. These include East Midlands sides Darkstar Derby and Scorpions Polonia Leicester, whom some of the players have faced this season in the EM league and the Nottinghamshire Grand Prix. Also new are Manchester Marvels – an unknown quantity and brand new side Sunderland City Predators – a joint venture between North Eastern clubs and Sunderland University. Relegated side RAF Harriers and last year’s fellow teams Loughborough Lions, Northampton Sparks, Kingsthorpe and York VC complete the division.

Women 1 move up to Division 2 North, luckily finding themselves now amongst several more local teams. They will once again face Coventry and Warwick Riga who were also promoted from 3N as well as Chester West and Cheshire who they beat last season in the Shield Cup. Other teams are fellow East Midlanders Loughborough Students, West Midlands sides South Birmingham and Telford and then a few more distant sides – relegated Leeds, who have now been relegated two seasons in a row, Herts VC and Cambridge. South Birmingham look to be the ones to watch – they also had a nearly unbeaten season in their first year in the NVL and the league MVP.

Men 1 promoted... by 2 sets!!

2012-04-23T15:38:40.684Z

Huge congratulations to Head Coach Paul Lamb and the Men’s 1 squad who have been promoted to Division 1 of the National Volleyball League! This follows on only a season from their promotion from Men 3N and is a great result for all involved. The team now join Women 1 who secured their automatic promotion last weekend.

The NVL playoffs were held at the National Volleyball Centre, Kettering where Rockets faced 2^nd place in Division 2 South, Guildford and 8^th place in Division 1, Brentwood Estonians. The winner of the triangular fixture was to be promoted. In the first match of the day Guildford beat Brentwood Estonians by the narrowest of margins with a tight 3-2 victory. In the second match, Rockets were then on against Guildford and took full advantage of a tired opposition to speed to a straightforward 3-0 victory.

This then meant Rockets just needed to take two sets off Brentwood Estonians to secure the promotion spot – which they did, taking the first two sets to 22 and 19. Estonians futilely pulled back, perhaps with Rockets already half way to the post match celebrations, and took the match 3 – 2. Perhaps a little disappointing but no matter, Rockets have gone up!!

So the team now look to a season just one league of the top flight – and it’s been a while since a Rockets team played this high up! Austrian exchange student Georg Plesser who took Division 2 North MVP will definitely be missed next season, but the rest of the squad look set to stay for Division 1 volleyball including hopefully setter Owen Lamb. Owen will be starting university in Sheffield next year but with Sheffield being relegated to Division 1 in perhaps one of the shock results in the playoffs on Saturday, Rockets hope to keep him on with the allure of a home club!

Playoff results:

V Guildford, 3-0 win (25-21, 25-17, 25-19)

V Brentwood Estonians, 2-3 defeat (25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 23-25, 13-15)

2011/2012 squad: Owen Lamb (Captain), Igor Lesanovsky, Georg Plesser, Blazej Pyda, Steve Jones, Dom Sharpe, Phil Harrison, Nick Brown, Jack Burvill, Jakub Wojcik, Michael Rottach, Ieuan Lamb, Joe Gretton, Nick Shardlow.

Playoff photos now on Nottingham Rockets Facebook page!

If you are interested in playing Division 1 volleyball with one of the UK’s fastest growing clubs, please contact nottinghamrockets@hotmail.co.uk

Nottinghamshire Grand Prix Results!

2012-04-18T16:00:56.717Z

The Nottinghamshire Grand Prix results are now online here! Well done to West Bridgford who registered their first win - the boys have been training with the Rockets juniors over the last few months and have certainly improved! The Rockets Under 16s and a Rockets adults team also took part - registering a couple of wins each.

The Grand Prix is a brand new competition this year - played monthly out of Southglade Leisure Centre and is proving a bit hit - finally some local volleyball competition on the doorstep! It's also a great chance for new teams to have a go without committing to the full rigours of the East Midlands league - so a big thank you to organiser Howard!

Women 1 Division 3 North Champions!

2012-04-16T09:06:53.575Z

Nottingham Rockets Womens first team wrapped up their season yesterday with a win against Leeds 2 landing them the Division 3 North title! This is a great achievement in only their first season in the National League and the girls look forward to playing a higher level of volleyball in Division 2 North next season.

This weekend the girls had to play Leeds Carnegie 2 and Leeds 2, with a 3-2 and 3-1 win required to take the title off rivals Coventry and Warwick Riga. With Leeds Carnegie pulling out very late on Saturday afternoon – due to a lack of players despite having 17 registered for their squad! - a 3-0 win was already in the bag meaning only a win was required against Leeds 2, with set and point score irrelevant. Leeds 2 warmed up well and with a new middle hitter swinging well, looked to be more of a threat than in our previous game against them. Rockets, however, did not let Leeds get a grip on the game at all, maintaining the lead throughout nearly all the match. The Leeds number 4 did cause some problems with strong serving and difficult to read hits, but Rockets defended well, particularly Jole and libero Marta, and were just too strong on the net for Leeds. With regular setter Donna back from illness and usual opposite Kate rested due running the

marathon next week, Sharon switched very effectively into the opposite position, hitting very well to find the gaps in the defence and racking up 5 aces on the serve earning her the MVP vote from Leeds. After a slightly tighter final set, the game finished 3-0 to Rockets, 25- 17, 25-12, 25-20 and the celebrations could begin.

In the Men’s league, Danes Watford eased past Newcastle (Staffs) 2 to take the Division 2 North title. The two games lost by Rockets earlier in the season during the absence of coach Paul and captain and first choice setter Owen (on holiday in Canada) proved to be crucial. The team now go to the playoffs this Saturday at the National Volleyball Centre, Kettering. Their opponents will be Cambridge (8th in Division 1) and Guildford International (2nd in Division 2 South) in a triangular where the winner will play in Division 1 next season. This will be tough for Rockets – the team lost 3-0 to Cambridge back in February in the Quarter Final of the Shield and Guildford International also had a strong run in this year’s shield. With a full squad and coach, however, the team can be confident of hopefully causing an upset! Good luck!

NVL titles to be decided this weekend for Rockets!

2012-04-13T13:19:17.733Z

Nottingham Rockets Women 1 play their final two matches this weekend in National League Division 3N. The team need two wins against Leeds Carnegie 2 and Leeds 2, without dropping more than 2 sets to guarantee the 2011-2012 league title. The girls have beaten both teams earlier in the season, despite a first set wobble against Leeds 2 – who remain the only team aside from league rivals Coventry and Warwick Riga to take a set off the girls. Riga have just one match left against 3rd placed Haughton Darlington, a 3 -0 win is needed for them in order to really push Rockets to the final match.

Both Rockets and Riga are already guaranteed promotion thanks to their form so far – but Rockets would love the league title as well! The team have had a great first season in the NVL, dropping only 2 sets since the shaky first match loss against Warwick Riga where injuries and absence played their part. Good luck to the players and coach Sian!

The Men’s first team are not in action this weekend as all their matches are complete, however will be keeping a close eye on the Danes Watford and Newcastle (Staffs) 2 fixture on Saturday. Danes must win to take the league title off Rockets – however with Staffs struggling with injuries in their first team and many second team players intending to play up it looks like a likely win for the southern side.

Keep an eye on the results at www.volleyballengland.org/competitions/national_volleyball_league/results

Men 2 take 5th place in strong finish to season!

2012-04-04T14:13:39.146Z

Rockets Men 2 (playing in Division 3 North) finished their first season in the NVl very strongly this weekend, demonstrating just how far the team has come. With a mixture of more experienced players with several members of the junior squads the team has finished the season on evens – 7 wins and 7 losses – 4 wins in their last 5 games.

Boosted by the transfer of Joe Gretton from Men’s 1 in Janaury, who quickly picked up two MVP votes in January and gave additional experience to the team.Their real form began early in March - the squad beat eventual league winners Wigan Seahawks– one of the shock results of the division this season – in a great match watched by several other club members. They then went on to win against Kingsthorpe convincingly 3-0, but unfortunately lose out to Haughton Darlington.

A re-arranged fixture from earlier in the season saw them at Loughborough last weekend, with fellow East Midlanders Lions still holding onto the hope of a play off place. Their hopes were quickly crushed by Rockets who stormed to a 3-0 victory taking full advantage of a depleted end of season Lions squad. Earlier in the day they also came from two sets down to beat Kingsthorpe for the second time in a tight match to secure a solid 5^th place in the league.

Well done to all the squad members, particularly the Under 18s who have adapted very quickly to senior volleyball at NVL level and a big thank you to coach Howard!

Weekend results:

V Kingsthorpe, 3 -2 (17-25, 21-25, 25-14, 25-20, 15-10) MVP: Ping Wang

V Loughborough Lions, 3 – 0 (25-19, 25-14, 26-21) MVP: Ieuan Lamb

2011/2012 Squad: Ping Wang, Chris Jackson, Joe Gretton, Ieuan Lamb, Greg Shaw, Nick Shardlow, Andy Glossop, Adam Lagerberg, Ben Tomlinson, Pawel Widera, Dan Harness, Marcin Dabrowski, Mark Ward.

Oxford Students default Saturday's match to guarantee Rockets play off place!

2012-03-29T07:59:34.830Z

Nottingham Rockets Men’s first team currently sit top of Division 2 North with one game in hand over league rivals Danes Watford. The squad were due to play Oxford Students this Saturday - but the opposition have defaulted the match - shockingly this is the 5th match in Division 2N to be forfeited this year - surely higher fines must be introduced in the NVLto prevent this from happening! On the plus side, this now confirms Rockets will finish either 1st or 2nd this year.

Unfortunately the top spot is under the control of second placed Danes Watford, who only need to win their final game to guarantee league victory due to their superior set difference. Rockets have beaten Danes (the only team to do so) on both meetings, but lost two games themselves earlier in the season which could cost them the title.

Rockets must hope Danes Watford slip up against Newcastle (Staffs) 2 – Staffs are currently training very hard for the Under 18 National Final and have some very talented youngsters, so fingers crossed!

The squad are guaranteed a minimum of 2nd place in the league - which would put them into the promotional play offs for a spot in Division 1 next season. These are scheduled for the 21st of April at the National Volleyball Centre, Kettering.

Women I take one step closer to Div 2!

2012-02-27T09:40:31.897Z

The dream of being promoted to division 2 of the National Volleyball League (NVL) is becoming more and more real. After a clear 3 – 1 victory against the leaders of Div.3 North League (Warwick Riga) our unstoppable ladies have only lost one game so far (against Warwick Riga 2-3 at the very beginning of the season).

In the game Rockets showed a strong team work led by M.V.P. Christin at the net, fighting against the strongest middle hits from Riga ( interesting to mention that one of them is competing with our Christin for winning the MVP in division 3!!). Our ladies struggled in the first set to get the hits through the unbreakable block, but little by little, they warmed up. Strong smashes from Jole and Sharon were the deciding points in the second and third sets. Kate’s serves and Donna’s good understanding with Christin and the four players make it hard work for Riga. Prim’s explosivity and Monika’s consistency gave wings to the Rockets flight. In the fourth set, after an unfortunate injury to Kate, Nadia used her experience to steady the pass, supporting Marta on the back court and giving the final push to the Rockets dream .

Final Score: 3 -1 (20-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-15)
MVP: Christin Pelzel

Free translation into Spanish:

ROCKETS I (CATEGORIA FEMENINA) CON UN PIE EN SEGUNDA DIVISION!!

El sueῆo de subir a segunda división de la Liga Nacional de Voleibol se hacecadavezmásy más real.Después de una clara victoria 3-1 contra el líder de latercera division norte (Warwick Riga),nuestras imparables chicas tan solo hanperdido un partido hasta la fecha (contra Warwick Riga 2-3 al empiece de la temporada).

En el partido Rockets mostró un consistentetrabajo de equipoliderado en la red por la elegida “mejorjugadora del partido”, Christin, quienpeleó con uῆas y dientescontra los durísimosataquesde las centrales de Riga (interesante comentar que una de ellas compite con nuestra Christin por ganar el título de mejor jugadora de tercera división). Nuestras féminastuvierondificultad en el primer set paratranspasar con sus remates el infranqueablebloqueo, peropoco a poco, calentaronmotores. Los fuertesremates de Jole y Sharon fueron decisivos en el Segundo y tercer set. Los saques de tenis de Kate y el buenentendimiento de Donna con Christin y las rematadoras de 4 resultó en unadurabatallapara Riga. La explosividad de Prim y la consistencia de Monika dieron alas al vuelo de Rockets. En el cuarto set, trasunadesafortunada lesión de Kate, la experiencia y seguridad de Nadia se tradujeron en un firme apoyo a Marta en la defensa y dieron el empuje final al sueῆo de Rockets.

Ieuan Lamb represents England in Austria!

2012-01-31T13:14:37.245Z

Rockets NVL and Junior player Ieuan Lamb swapped Southglade for Austria this weekend, making the England Cadet squad for the annual Sparkassen-Rondo cup in Feldkirch.

Ieuan travelled with 11 other talented young players from across the country as well as the England Cadet Girls squad who were also taking part. The opposition included some of the top European club and junior national teams and gave the players the chance to meet high quality junior opposition over the weekend. With GB’s Nichola Osborne dropping into watch and hundreds of volleyball fans following the action live on Twitter back in the UK, there was plenty of attention on the action in Austria!

The boys squad had an excellent tournament, clocking up victories easily and making the semi finals without even dropping a set. They then eased past Salzburg 2-0 to set up a final against defending champions Graz. This match proved to be extremely tight, with England struggling to get going initially and losing the first 25-17. The second went point for point with Ieuan substituting on for James Baker at 13-12 up and England finally took it, 25-23. In the decider, despite several substitutions Graz powered away to a 15-8 victory. The team were disappointed to lose so closely, but the runners up spot was a great achievement in a tough tournament and a first international experience for come.

Congratulations to Ieuan and the rest of the team on their silver medal!

East Midlands Junior Training: Fri 24th of Feb

2012-01-31T11:11:33.584Z

The next East Midlands junior training session will be on Friday the 24th of February at 6 pm. The venue is Ashfield School, Kirkby in Ashfield.

Sessions are open to all boys in Year 12 or below and girls in Year 11 or below. They offer the chance for extra coaching with some of the regions top coaches and the opportunity to represent the East Midlands at the Inter Regional Championships! For more information, please see the East Midlands Volleyball Association's

webpage.

Super Sunday: 5 wins out of 5!

2012-01-22T20:10:46.118Z

To add to the table topping win yesterday of Men's 1 and victories for the U16 Boys, sending them through to the Last 8s of the Junior National Championships.... today saw 5 wins out of 5 for Women 1, Women 2 and the U18 Men!

Women 1 step closer to promotion to Division 2 North after two convincing 3 set wins against a young Wirral side and league veterans RAF Hawks, with MVP votes going to Christin Pelzel and Kate Rothery. Neither opposition really troubled the squad who were able to power through with strong hitting from Christin, Jole and Primrose in particular. The squad now look forward to their next match against league leaders Warwick Riga, for the chance to avenge the opening match of the season defeat and take the top spot.

Women 2 repeated their home result against new side Ashfield Vipers with another 3 -0 win away against the school-based team. The squad have another match tomorrow night against a strong Lincoln Leopards, so hope to take their winning form though! Come down to Southglade from 8pm to see how they get on.

The U18 Men, featuring several Men 1 and Men 2 players, travelled to the Black Country for the second round of the Junior National Championships and won all their matches to qualify through to the Last 8s in February at the National Volleyball Centre.

Congratulations to all!

Men 1 top the league!

2012-01-21T21:00:38.207Z

Nottingham Rockets Men's first team are now officially top of the league, less than a year after winning promotion to Division 2N! They clinched the top spot with an easy win this afternoon against league strugglers Leeds. Georg also tops the division MVP table with 5 votes, congratulations!

Their next match is hugely important, as it's a home game against their main league rivals Danes Watford. Save the date: Saturday the 28th of February at 14.45! Danes currently sit below Rockets but have a game in hand, so the result could decide the eventual league winners. It's set to be a tough game, Rockets beat Danes away 3 - 2 in October, but 2011's National Shield Winners have several ex England internationals in their squad and have proven they can rise to the big game.

Women 1 are also in NVL action tomorrow, away at RAF Hawks, taking on Hawks and Wirral both of whom they have previously beaten in 3 sets. They look to hold onto their second spot in the league, ahead of their next home game and top of the league clash against Warwick Riga on the 19th of February.

NVL Men through to National Shield quarters!

2012-01-08T13:25:59.322Z

Rockets Men's NVL team reached the quarter finals of the National Shield Cup yesterday, beating Division 1 side Richmond in an epic 5 set battle. After trading sets throughout the match, Rockets finally claimed it in the 5th, 15-10. The quarter final is set for the 4th February 2012, again away, again against another Division 1 side Cambridge.

Although they beat non-league Harrogate fairly convincingly in yesterday's Round 2 game, Cambridge are currently struggling at one spot off bottom in NVL Division 1. Having beaten Richmond, who sit 4 places above them in Division 1, Rockets should be confident of another upset! The semi final will be at home, so good luck to the squad.... it would be nice to have a Shield semi-final at home!

Christmas tournament winners!

2011-12-20T15:42:16.922Z

Congratulations to Christmas tournament winners, Sarah and Georg who clocked up the most victories in last night's mixed volleyball!

The session was good Christmas fun with over 20 members representing right from our Under 11s team (doing a great job on the scoreboard) to the Men's 1 squad.Players were paired up in mixed pairs, then played 6-a-side, joining up with all the other pairs across the night. The winners were the pair with the most victories.

Top three: 1st: Georg & Sarah, 2nd: Joe and Rhia, 3rd: Mark and Martyna.

Merry Christmas from Nottingham Rockets Volleyball Club!

Christmas at Nottingham Rockets!

2011-12-07T11:49:32.094Z

Please see below for all the details of what is happening at Rockets Volleyball Club over the Christmas period.....

Rockets Christmas Fun Session

On Monday the 19th of December, there will be NO beginners and Men's 1 training: instead we'll be having a Christmas fun session where all members and their family, friends and colleagues are welcome! There will be .....

- A mixed fun tournament
- Music (Cheesy Christmas music included)
- Mince Pies and Drinks on sale for charity
- Prizes for the tournament winners and for the member bringing the most people along with them!

Please see the attached flyer for details, print it off and share it with your friends :) Anyone that enjoys the volleyball will be able to join our beginners' session in the New Year! Hope to see you all there!

Training over the holiday period

- Thursday 8th December: Juniors (6.30pm - 8pm), Seniors (8pm -10pm)
- Monday 12th December: Beginners (7pm - 8pm), Men I (8pm - 10pm)
- Thursday 15th December: Juniors (6.30pm - 8pm), Seniors (8pm - 10pm)
- Monday 19th December: Christmas Fun Session! (7pm - 10pm)
- Thursday 22nd, Monday 26th, Thursday 29th December: NO TRAINING
- Monday 2nd January: NO BEGINNERS, Men I (8pm - 10pm) TBC
- Thursday 5th January: Juniors (6.30pm - 8pm), Seniors (8pm - 10pm)
Normal training resumed.

Please check the Club Calendar for all the up-to-date details of training and matches.

*** Men 1, please can you email Nick Brown and Paul Lamb to let them know if you will be attending Men 1 training on the 2nd of January so that a decision can be made on booking the hall.

Rockets Christmas Meal

We are now fully booked up for the Rockets Xmas meal! If you can't make it for the meal, then please join us for drinks later in the evening, we'll be at Fellows, Morton and Clayton Pub, 54 Canal Street, Nottingham, NG1 7EH. We'll be there until around half 11, then who knows.......

Weekend preview....

2011-12-02T14:36:31.902Z

We look ahead to a busy three days of Rockets action this Saturday, Sunday and Monday…..

On Saturday, Rockets 1 Men head down to Oxford Students for a league match. The students sit just below Rockets in 4^th place in the table so it looks set to be a tight match. In their last match, however, Oxford did lose a very tight battle with Loughborough Students 2-3, a team who Rockets recently beat convincingly so they go into the match as favourites.

Sunday sees the turn of the Under 18 Men to join the junior nationals’ action. The squad features several of our National League players including Men’s 1 Owen Lamb, Ieuan Lamb and Nick Shardlow. Rockets are in a small group of 4, with two qualifying through to the next round. They face Hyde Boys and Leeds VC, two relatively new faces on the junior scene. Leeds are largely unknown but Hyde Boys were easily defeated by the Rockets U16 side last weekend, so we can hope for a repeat performance in the Under 18s. Watford-based St Clement Danes complete the group and are likely to be the biggest challenge for Rockets with a long history of quality junior sides. Again Rockets are hosting, so any Rockets members with a free Sunday, please drop down to support and help the junior coaches out!

Women 1 have their third away triangular in NVL W3N on Sunday, facing Leeds Met Carnegie and North Riding Eagles up in Leeds. The squad already convincingly beat North Riding Eagles, a very young side, at home this season but have not yet faced Leeds Met 2. They have an identical record to Rockets with 4 wins and 1 loss to Warwick Riga. With injuries still plaguing the team, this could be a tricky one!

On Monday, Rockets Women 2 have their second home match of the season against league newbies Darkstar Volleyball. Darkstar have won all their matches so far, so Rockets are looking forward to a challenge after their straightforward win last Monday against Ashfield Vipers. Men 1 also train on the adjacent court, so it’ll be a busy night for Rockets!

Watch out for all the results updates next week….

Rockets 2011 Xmas Party

2011-11-25T10:13:53.454Z

The Rockets 2011 Christmas party is now confirmed as Saturday the 10th of December 2011!

Venue: Fellows, Morton and Clayton, 54 Canal Street, Nottingham, NG1 7EH.

Time: 7.15pm

Price: £22 per person for a 3 course meal. Click here to view the menu!

Judging on past years, this is a great night out and a chance for the whole club to get together and celebrate the season so far! We already have 20 people planning to attend, so I hope as many more of you as possible can come!

If you would like to attend, please email nottinghamrockets@hotmail.co.uk or confirm your attendance on the Nottingham Rockets Facebook group by FRIDAY 2ND DECEMBER AT THE LATEST as we need to book numbers.

Women 1 a set away from the Cup upset of the season!

2011-11-29T09:08:16.701Z

The Women’s first team narrowly missed out on causing another big cup upset with an extremely tight defeat away at Division 1 side City of Salford. The opponents had clearly underestimated Rockets and Rockets quickly went 2 sets up, having held the lead throughout both sets. Nadia and Christin in particular were consistently hitting through Salford’s block. In the third, a switch of Jole and Christin sending Christin out to 4 didn’t pay off as Salford began to hit harder and easily avoided the block. Rockets went into the first technical 0-8 down and couldn’t repair the damage, losing the set to 14. In the fourth and fifth, Salford got into their stride with the two four players hitting several clean winners and Rockets fell behind the tempo slightly losing out to 16, and then to 10 in the deciding set. A great performance though with tough serving, some big blocks from Christin and Bahar and really strong setting from Donna even after over 200 points played!

Despite the disappointment of losing a 2 set lead it was a great opportunity to play against a top quality side and really test our squad. Salford clearly weren’t expecting such a strong performance, so yet again Rockets could trouble these top division sides! However, the squad needs to get used to these higher tempo games to be able to close out victories; unfortunately the standard of matches so far in Division 3N have been disappointing, with only Coventry & Warwick Riga causing the Rockets any problems at all. The team now must use the second half of the season to push for promotion, making sure they reverse the defeat to Riga at home next year and beat Leeds Carnegie next weekend, who also have a good win record so far.

Final score: 2 – 3 (25-22, 25-23, 14-25, 16-25, 10-15)

Squad: Sharon Nelis (captain), Christin Pelzel, Nadia Duarte, Donna Lill, Marta Larraona-Puy, Monika Kucharska, Jole Martino and Bahar Durmaz. Coach: Sian Lamb. MVP: Christin Pelzel.

In other weekend action, congratulations to the Rockets U16 boys who qualified on Saturday through the second round of the Volleyball England U16 National Championships. Hosted at Rockets’ home, Southglade, the team put in a strong performance led by England cadets Ieuan Lamb and Adam Lagerberg. They eventually finished in second place with Wigan Seahawks taking the top spot in the group. Wigan also features some Division 3N players and it seems the NVL experience of both teams paid off. Rockets now find themselves in tough group for the next round on the 21^st of January, hosted by Newcastle (Staffs) and featuring both their A (National Finalists last year) and B squad!

Squad: Ieuan Lamb, Sam Reid, Adam Lagerberg, Ben Tomlinson, Alex Tomlinson, Adam Wake and George Smith

Also on Saturday, Rockets Men I got off to a strong start in the Shield Cup beating non-league side Sheffield YP away. Next up are Richmond Volleyball on the 7^th of January in Surrey. Currently sitting in the mid of the Division 1 table, Richmond are likely to present a tougher challenge!

Rockets 1 back to winning ways!

2011-11-17T16:27:06.148Z

The Rockets Men’s first team have broken their recent streak of losses with a convincing win over Loughborough Students on Monday night. The last two games have been two close fought losses, an epic 5 set thriller against a junior-dominated Newcastle (Staffs) team in the league and a disappointing defeat against Super 8 side Coventry & Warwick Riga in the KO Cup. In the latter Rockets lost in the 4^th 24-26 and were agonisingly close to taking the match to a deciding set.

As the home of University performance volleyball has been moving away from Loughborough over the last few years, Loughborough are no longer the force to be reckoned with they once were but consistently field technically strong teams with some talented young players. With Head Coach Paul Lamb and Owen safely back from their holidays in Canada, it was, however, back to business for Rockets 1 as they took the victory convincingly, 3 – 0. This now raises them back up the table to third position, although 4^th place Team Northumbria have a game in hand.

Final score: 3 – 0 (25- 16, 25-14, 25-20)

Next match for Rockets 1 is this Saturday the 19^th of November where the squad faces league strugglers RAF Hawks and mid table Oxford Students. Rockets large squad should stand them in good stead with the triangular nature of the fixture meaning they will have to play two matches in one day.

East Midlands fixtures now online for Rockets Women 2!

2011-11-18T09:29:29.181Z

The East Midlands Regional League is now up and running with all fixtures online on the Club Calendar.

Rockets have one team entered in the league for the 2011/2012 season, Women 2, and are hoping to regain the regional title that Women 1 won last year!

First match is next Monday (21^st) away at Chesterfield Cobras, with the first home match on Monday the 28^th at 8pm against league newbies Ashford Vipers.

Please come along on Monday the 28th to support the team!

Level 1 Volleyball coaching course in Nottingham!

2011-11-03T11:22:11.641Z

Volleyball England have confirmed a Level 1 Coaching course in Nottingham next year. Please contact Rich Stacey-Chapman at r.stacey-chapman@volleyballengland.org if you would like to attend the course. Application form can be downloaded at the bottom of the page.

For any Rockets members interested in volunteering to coach the Junior sessions, Rockets may be able to support you financially with this course. Contact us at nottinghamrockets@hotmail.co.uk for more information.

Venue: Harvey Hadden Sports Centre, Nottingham

Dates: 15^th, 22^nd & 29^th January 2012

Cost: £180 (Discounted rate of £150 for Nottinghamshire residents)

Rockets Men through to Round 2 of National Cup!

2011-10-16T11:22:07.020Z

The Rockets Men's first team eased past regional side Harrogate VC in the first round of the National KO Cup yesterday after a wobble in the third set. Final result was 3 - 1 (25-15, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19). They now face Super 8 side Coventry and Warwick Riga in an exact rematch of last year's second round. Rockets will travel to Riga to play on the 5th of November. Riga are yet to win a game in the 2011/2012 season and Rockets remain unbeaten in Division 2, so there could be an upset! In the KO Cup, 30 teams from across the UK compete to reach the April finals at the National Volleyball Centre in Kettering.

Women 1, who reached the semi finals in the Shield last year, have found themselves already in Round 3 after withdrawals from both Marske and Super 8 side Birmingham who have dropped out of the NVL and Cup completely. The large amount of drop outs is reminiscent of last year, where Newcastle (Staffs) had not played a single game in the Shield before they faced Rockets in the semi finals. Perhaps a sign of tight financial times, but not ideal publciity for the country's top knockout competition. The Rockets girls look likely to face on form Division 1 side City of Salford, away on the 27th November. This will be a steep challenge but a good opportunity to step up their level against a quality side.

Good luck to both teams!

National Volleyball League season has started!

2011-10-04T10:31:25.077Z

The 2011/2012 National Volleyball League season has now begun with all the leagues now underway with matches. Rockets have 3 teams competiting this year, Rockets 1 (M2N) and new entries for Rockets 2 (M3N) and the Womens 1(W3N). So how have they started the season? ....

Men 1

After being promoted to Division 2 North unbeaten last season, Rockets 1 have continued their winning ways in 2011/2012. First up was a straightforward 3-0 win against a disappointing Leeds side at home, then an epic 5 set battle against Danes Watford. At 2-0 down, Rockets looked out of the game, but managed to pull it back, finally taking the game at 16-14 in the fifth!

New players this year include setter Phil Harrison and Dom Sharpe from the folded Worksop side who have taken the East Midlands title for the last 2 years. With a MVP vote apiece from the first two matches, they have already proved their value to the squad. Blazej Pyda has joined as the new libero after playing with Rockets in the Nottingham Riviera this summer and opposite player Georg Plesser completes the line up. Georg is spending a year at Nottingham Trent University and has previously played National League in his home country Austria. After losing several key players last season, it’s great to see some new faces filling vacant positions alongside last year’s players who helped their team to a convincing promotion.

With no restriction on junior players playing up from Rockets 2, watch out for rising stars England cadet Ieuan Lamb and Nick Shardlow featuring this year in the middle blocker position.

2011/2012 Squad: Joe Gretton, Nick Brown, Igor Lesanovsky, Steve Jones, Owen Lamb, Jakub Wojcik, Blazej Pyda, Michael Rottach, Phil Harrison, Georg Plesser and Dominic Sharpe. Coach: Paul Lamb.

Men 2

Nottingham Rockets 2 had a mixed start to their NVL campaign, starting off with a strong away win against relegated York VC but unfortunately losing out to fellow new team South Birmingham and Loughborough Lions this weekend.

This squad is a real credit to the development of junior volleyball in the East Midlands with 7 junior players registered from Nottingham Rockets, Worksop and Lincoln all of whom have represented the East Midlands at the junior Inter Regionals. Of course you have to have that vital experience J and Rockets 2 is lucky to have setter Ping Wang controlling the play and Chris Jackson captaining the side with a return to NVL volleyball after a few years break. Pawel and Marcin take the step up from the East Midlands league and are joined by new members Marek who has just moved to Nottingham and former Nottingham University player Soon Yee. Casualties player David Gregory has also made the move to National League from their regional team and showed his value to the squad taking the first MVP vote of the season from York.

Welcome also to new coach Howard Tomlinson, who has joined Rockets from Worksop Volleyball Club where he remains the Chair. Howard is one of the regions top coaches, and a graduate of last years FIVB Level I course.

2011/2012 Squad: Chris Jackson (Captain), Pawel Widera, Ping Wang, Ieuan Lamb, Adam Lagerberg, Marcin Dabrowski, Ben Tomlinson, Andy Glossop, Daniel Harness, Marek Piekarsky, Soon Yee Lieuw and Greg Shaw. Coach: Howard Tomlinson

Women 1

Despite several of last year’s squad missing the matches, the NVL Women’s team had a solid start to their NVL campaign with a 3-0 win against Wirral and a narrow 2-3 loss to Coventry & Warwick Riga. MVP votes went to Sharon and Primrose who consistently found holes in the opponents defence and Lucie and Donna also had excellent games, Lucie frustrating the block and Donna consistently setting up her attackers.

With departures, injuries and holidays disrupting last year’s line up, it’s been really great to welcome new players Nadia, Donna, Monika, Bahar and Stephanie to the Ladies first team! Both Nadia and Monika joined us last year at the end of the season impressing in summer training and Stephanie has progressed through from the Under 18s squad to join the full senior set up. Former Nottingham University player Bahar has represented Rockets before at the legendary 2010 Bridlington and it’s good to see her back in the indoor season. New setter Donna has come across from neighboring East Midlands side Lincoln Cannons to step up to National League volleyball and has already settled in well playing every single point in the 8 sets on Sunday!

2011/2012 Squad: Primrose Chiswo (Captain), Sharon Nelis, Christin Pelzel, Marta Larraona Puy, Jole Martino, Lucie Pekarkova, Nadia Duarte, Kate Rothery, Donna Lill, Monika Kucharska, Bahar Durmaz, and Stephanie Fu. Coach: Sian Lamb

The start of the East Midlands season is also fast approaching with Men 3 and Women 2 both competing in these regional leagues.

If you would like to trial for one of Nottingham Rockets senior squads, please contact nottinghamrockets@hotmail.co.uk