On a dramatic weekend for NSVC teams, the club has two National Cup Finals to look forward to, and has an impressive record of having featured in at least the semi-finals of national competitions at u16, u18 and senior levels with both the female and male sides of the club this season!

Hundreds of photos from all of the weekend's matches can be found via the Volleyball England Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/VolleyballEngland?ref=ts (all photos courtesy of Jon McGugan) and 'Castle specific content will soon appear on our own YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/NSVC1

The under 16 girls team were the first to make it through to the final with a thrilling 2-1 win over Wessex, coming back from 1-0 down to take the match 20-25, 25-14, 15-5 and will face tameside in the final. Meanwhile the u16 boys were playing Boswells in the semi-final - after a thrilling first set went the way of the Essex team 25-23, 'Castle lost the second 25-20. The men's first team then took to the court versus Cup favourites Malory and won the first set 27-25, before going down to a 3-1 defeat in front of a crowd of around 200 spectators.

On Sunday it was the turn of the u18s, with the girls coming up against Wessex again in the semis, in the most thrilling match of the whole weekend with three very tight sets. Sadly for 'Castle the fightback seen by the u16s the day before could not be matched and they went down 2-1: 27-25, 23-25, 16-14. After dominating their group with some superb play the 'Castle lads took to the court v Middlesbrough for their semi-final, and lost the first set 25-21 - the first set they'd lost in the whole competition. The team also lost star opposite player Michal Hawiar through injury, leading to Sam Shenton entering the fray. 'Castle turned it around to win the second set 25-16, and then went into overdrive to take the third 15-3. The lads will face Wessex in the final at Crystal Palace.