On 3-5 January, EHC’s Maks Makowski and LMS’ Daniella Tchandeu were called up to compete with the England Senior Volleyball teams at the Five Nations Volleyball Championship!
The competition was hosted at the National Volleyball Centre where England, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland (Gibraltar unfortunately didn’t make it) competed against each other for the Five Nations title.
The England Men went undefeated and beat Scotland 3-0 in the final. Maks played a major role in this victory as the starting libero (top specialty defender). He made some unbelievable saves, took charge of defence and kept a consistent pass in to help the flow and rhythm of the game. The entire coaching staff along with his senior teammates including current professional players were blown away with how well Maks played so much that they let him keep the Five Nations trophy. This is a major honour and shows how much the team value Maks. Director of Volleyball at GORSE also contributed to the victory as an assistant coach for the Men’s team.
The England Women defeated Ireland and Northern Ireland but lost to Scotland in the final. However, as the competition is a joint effort between the men’s and women’s teams from each country, England came out victorious by 8 points! Daniella worked her way onto court and quickly became a major threat for Scotland putting up some huge blocks and scoring some powerful kills. It was clear she rightfully earned her place on the team and is absolutely one to watch for the future. The women’s setter from Leeds also played on this team.
When reflecting on this competition, Maks said, “Five Nations was my first Senior Men’s tournament and it was one of my greatest experiences. This tournament gave me a lot of confidence that I can now bring back to Leeds which will help me to keep on improving for the future. This experience has also shown me what potential I do have, and I believe and understand how I can achieve becoming a great volleyballer for the future if I do keep on this positive trajectory.”
Additionally, England sent a men’s and a women’s team to compete in a tournament in Luxembourg over the same weekend. Being able to field two competitive teams shows the England programme is on track towards success.
Having two year 12 students not only selected, but part of the starting lineup for the senior squads is incredible! No other 16 or 17-year-olds in the country have been able to achieve this. We are immensely proud of these students and are excited to see what their futures hold.
