Great Yarmouth & Gorleston Volleyball Club brought another successful season to a close by attending the Whitefield International Volleyball Tournament in Bath.

It is the largest outdoor tournament in the country with 26 courts and thousands of members of the volleyball community in attendance.

A season of successes which included ninth place in both the men’s and women’s U18 National Cup and a highest placing yet in the Norfolk Local League was completed by GYGVC returning from the tournament as Men’s Division Four and Mixed Division Three champions.

This was the first time the club have entered the prestigious tournament, making the victories even more impressive.

Fifteen players of various ages travelled to the Recreation Ground in Bath where they camped on the Bath Rugby Club pitch and played on the land adjacent to it.

Over two days the men’s team consisting of Michael Lee, Alex Shreeve, John Ashmore, Andrew Potter, Kriss Dreimanis, Ashley Green and Hayden Yates played eight games, winning six including the final where they met a team who had beaten them the day before.

For a while it looked as if there might be another loss after a humbling first set for the GYGVC team. But they rallied in the second and third sets to take the match 2-1 to bring the trophy home.

The mixed team consisting of Tilly Burrows, Becky Warrington, Chloe Anderson, Jodie Brady, Dave Richards, Craig Alexander, Bradley Veitch and Nathan Derbyshire played seven matches over the two days, losing only one. They played some spectacular volleyball in their semi-final to overcome a team with a wealth of experience and former top-level players two sets to nil.

This continued in the final where a close three-set match was contested with Rugby Pheonix, another team with lots of experience, with GYGVC showing the mental toughness they have lacked at times to come out victorious.

The club can now break for summer on this high note and prepare to better their most successful season to date next year.

If anyone is interested in trying volleyball or getting involved in the club, it will resume training on a Monday evening at Ormiston Venture Academy in mid-September and cater for all ages and abilities through different sessions.

If you would like any information in the meantime, visit www.gygvc.co.uk or pop down to Gorleston beach where, if it is dry, the club will be playing beach volleyball on a Monday evening.