Scotland Men at Novotel Cup 2010

At a time of year when most of the country was crippled by snow storms and ice the Men’s National Team made its way to an equally snowy Luxembourg for the 2010 edition of the Novotel Cup.

Drawn against Austria and Latvia along with the hosts it was never going to be an easy baptism for myself or the team with four debutants on board.

Latvia 3-2 Scotland

My first game in charge! I loved every minute of the game and after winning the 1st set 25-16 I thought it was going to be the dream start for the team.

The Latvian team had other ideas and came out in the second set on fire with a string of fantastic hits as well as great defence and blocking, once they established a 7 point lead by the 2nd technical time out we were always up against it and it was clear that the 3rd set was going to be crucial if we had any hopes of winning the match.

 My team did not let me down playing a fantastic set of Volleyball to win 29-27. Throughout this set we played determined, fast, expansive Volleyball. I was really pleased with this set looking back on the tournament because it was the brand of play we had worked on in practice and every player played every single point without fear and complete trust in each other.

The fourth set was a repeat of the second and we had no answer to the block that the Latvian were putting up on the back of tough serving. I decided to take out the starters and give the bench a run out in preparation for the deciding set. Another huge positive was the impact the bench players made throughout the tournament when I asked them to contribute.

The decider was even all the way up until the turn then a couple of nice plays from the Latvians as well as two errors meant that we lost out 15-12. A bitter sweet opening game for me but there was a lot of positives and the players were fantastic in their support for each other throughout what was a roller coaster of a game.

Key Stats

Mike Penny 14 Kills, 2.4 passing
Callum Green 16 Kills
Barry McGuigan 2.4 passing

Luxembourg 3-0 Scotland

Scotland renewed the rivalry with Luxembourg in a packed stadium and the atmosphere seemed to inspire the Scots as we raced to a 6-2 lead playing some superb points. However, the home team weathered the onslaught and slowly fought back and eventually won the set 25-23.

The 2nd Set was actually the most demanding one of the tournament for me as a coach as Luxembourg turned the screw and exerted a very good match plan which was exposing our passing and setting. The battle for me was to try and come up with solutions whilst taking the pressure off the team by getting them to focus on the targets for the day. I think towards the end of the set we had come up with a solution and credit to the players we managed to carry the momentum into the 3rd set

The 3rd Set again highlighted the desire and fight in the Scotland team, it would have been easy to capitulate in the face of great pressure from the home team but Stuart Edgar showed why he is renown as one of the fiercest competitors in Scottish Volleyball lighting up the arena with 7 straight kills to put us on the verge of winning the set and putting us back in the match.

It was at this stage that we showed inexperience and blew three or four legitimate chances to win the set, the fact that the team are not put in this situation often enough meant that we were unsure how to act and unsure what was required and in the end we fell short losing 32-30.

Key Stats

Colin Hamilton 2.6 passing
Alistair Galloway 13 Kills
Stuart Edgar 65% Efficiency

Austria 3-0 Scotland

Austria were the class of the field with several very talented players and to be fair we were never going to win this game. I was however looking for a reaction after the disappointment from the night before and again I wasn’t let down we fought for every point and Stuart Edgar gained a new fan club from the Latvian players in the crowd chanting “Edgar! Edgar!” after every point and serve.

It wasn’t enough as the Austrians, who are hosting the European Championship Finals, were thoroughly professional and went about their business as if it was the Final itself.

Key Stats

Callum Green 11 Kills
Mike Penny 2.35 passing
Stuart Edgar 3 Blocks

We are at the start of a new era and we will hopefully take the lessons learned and come back stronger for the European campaign in June. Though the end of the tournament saw us in fourth place and with no wins there were plenty of positives to take. I genuinely feel that the group of players involved were starting to adapt to the level of competition and at times control the games against quality opposition.
The key for the programme moving forward is to be exposed to this level of competition on a regular basis so that the players are taken out of their comfort zone and forced to play the game on the edge of their mental and physical capabilities. With the great group of players I have worked with I think we can close the gap on these teams.

Many thanks to Iain Parker and Steve Scott as well as the input and feedback of all the players throughout the tournament.

Special mention should go to the Scottish Supporters club led by Vince Krawzyck who drove overnight to get to the games, I really appreciate your support and your feedback.

Simon Loftus Head
Coach Scottish Men’s Programme