The 2009 British Universities Volleyball Championships were held at All Saints School, Sheffield as part of the British Universities Championships in the city which saw 24 sports and 5000 participants compete over five days for their respective national university titles.

Volleyball saw the top 8 men and womens teams in the Championship and top 4 in the Trophy come together for a feast of volleyball. Twenty four teams, forty four matches, two hundred and seventy four participants, seventeen nationalities, one busy weekend!

A lot of competitive and hotly contested matches, but in good spirit. A lot of National League players, and a good sprinkling of internationalists all added to the event. Manchester, Bath, Dundee and Napier women came through to contest the semi finals. Bath controlled their match against Manchester and were comfortable winners. In the all Scottish affair Napier flew from the blocks and blasted the first set. Dundee re-grouped and fought to level at one all and maintained the momentum to take the deciding third set.

In the Final Bath’s experience and depth of hitting was evident. Dundee contested point for point but Bath edged both sets to win their second Championship.

In the men’s Championship Sheffield Hallam, Leeds Met Carnegie, Cambridge and Loughborough fought their way out of the pools to the semi finals. Hallam were pushed all the way by a resurgent Cambridge, but edged it in the third. Loughborough were unable to repeat their Student Cup victory over Leeds Met Carnegie, and would eventually end up third.

The men’s final was closely contested but Leeds Met Carnegie held the upper hand with more reliable passing, enabling better distribution and the firepower did the rest to see them claim a rarely achieved double of winning VE Student Cup and British Universities Championship in the same year.

In the Trophy, for Tier Two teams, Imperial College saw off Nottingham men, and Cambridge women were too strong for Southampton.