Fury of the Storm Women Leaves Phoenix Flightless

The Adelaide storm bought the lightning and thunder with them, dominating in their second away match of the 2023 Scape Australian Volleyball Super League against the NSW Phoenix at Olympic Park. The fierce serve from the Storm was too much for the inexperienced Phoenix team, taking the round 2 win 1-4 (16-18, 6-18, 11-18, 3-18, 18-17).

Storm captain Rebecca Reeve led her team to a narrow win in the first set 16-18 before unleashing fury in the following three sets. After going down to the Vipers last week they took time to regroup and came out firing. The Phoenix weren’t able to weather the Storm going down 6-18, 11-18 and 3-18.

Storm youngster Cameron Zajer, recently back from the Youth Commonwealth Games with silver medal in hand, made her debut in the Scape Super League and was exceptional both in the front court and the back.

Phoenix captain Lacey Bruce managed to rally the troops and take the final set 18-17, a much needed high going into next week’s match against the Heat in Canberra. Harriet Gillson and Matauaina Gibbons were the standouts for the young, inexperienced Phoenix side. Coach Chris Todd said both players created great opportunities, but unfortunately the team couldn’t capitalise on these.

Both teams were missing the key experience of their national team representatives, but this allowed for both sides to bring in some new, younger players, giving them their first taste of the Scape Super League.

The Storm have set themselves up for a good run with three home games left before finals. They will be hoping to maintain the momentum when they come up against the Queensland Pirates next weekend.  Meanwhile the Phoenix now have some work to do if they are to keep their finals hopes alive, with two away matches before returning to Sydney Olympic Park in round 5.

Wash Out: Storm Men Too Much for Phoenix to Weather

On the road for the second week in a row, and keen to stay on the victory train, the Adelaide Storm thundered into Sydney Olympic Park leaving devastation in their wake. The experience both nationally and internationally saw the men from Adelaide storm to victory over the NSW Phoenix 0-5 in round 2 of the Scape Australian Volleyball Super League.

Storm captain Nathan Roberts had a flawless game, solid on serve receive as well as putting away balls at key moments when his team needed them the most.

Jordan Colotti also commanded the troops on the floor. His experience and exceptional setting guided the Storm to comfortable wins in all five sets (12-18, 13-18, 13-18, 15-18, 6-18).

NSW’s Sean Bosschieter had another strong showing with great efficiency in attack. Australian representative Ethan Garrett again showed why he is an integral part of the Phoenix lineup with strong passing. 

Phoenix coach Antony Rowda said the young Phoenix team would benefit from more touches together as a group but recognised the dominant Storm performance.

“It was a tough game. We played really well in some parts, obviously a very consistent and experienced team on the other side of the net. A lot of experience there with a lot of National and International representation. Their setters did a great job of keeping them in the system,” Rowda said.

Hotly tipped to be a contender for the 2023 title, the Storm Men will be looking to take all they have learnt from their time on the road this season and harness that fury for their three home games. The Phoenix takes to the road next week with another tough challenge ahead of them taking on the Canberra Heat, but they are confident they will continue to build.