By Jack Howarth
The University of Huddersfield Men’s Volleyball first team will face the University of Bradford in a Varsity clash on Wednesday, April 2nd, at 11 a.m. in the University Sports Hall.
Following a good campaign this season, finishing in fourth position in the league table, Huddersfield are coming into the fixture in high spirits. However, with no previous history of facing Bradford, there is no telling how this tie may play out.
Despite this, Daniel Stapleton, the men’s captain and club president, is very positive, having reflected on the long season the side has endured so far.
“Looking back, we had a whole new team from last year. In September up until now, the boys have gelled well. We had one weekly training, and from there, we did well.
“No matter where we go now, we’re proud. Overall, we finished 4th in the season, so we’re pretty happy with the results.”
With the side losing many key players in the summer, it has been a critical season to build new foundations for current and future success. Huddersfield has seen plenty of new faces come through the door who will be playing in Varsity for the first time.
“We look back at the previous games, the errors we’ve made, and how we can improve on them ahead of Varsity. It will be different because we haven’t played against Bradford before, unlike other teams in their competitions.”
Huddersfield lost their previous match away against Teesside, so they will have to bounce back and move on from disappointing results. The side’s captain is using the poor performance as an opportunity to improve ahead of the varsity.
“Overall, we’ve looked back at our loss in the last game against Teesside. We will reflect on it positively and see what we can improve.
“Every training session from then has been for preparation for Varsity. Just working on fundamentals and plays,” said Daniel.
When discussing how those sessions have gone ahead of the big clash on Wednesday, Daniel said, “We’re confident we are going to smash Bradford.”
The club captain also revealed some new tactics the side will implement to entertain the crowd at such a big event.
“The plays we’re going to run will be some quicks, some insane spikes, insane pancakes and receives and sets. It’s all just going to be amazing to watch.”
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