Newcastle (Staffs) vs Barnsley
National Cup round 2
5/11/11
Madeley High School

Newcastle (Staffs) 3-0
25-6, 25-7, 25-9

'Castle went into this cup tie against non-league outfit Barnsley knowing in no uncertain terms from their coaching team that the cup was not their priority this season but that they must take advantage of the opportunity to take on the leading team in the country, Super 8 table toppers Leeds Carnegie in the next round. With that in mind both Yates and McKellar were both given the weekend off and 'Castle planned to run different line-ups in each set.

The opening rally set the tone for the match, with Heath passing the serve with 100% accuracy, Jenkins feeding Shenton whose spike was too much for Barnsley to handle, but as it came straight back over to the 'Castle side Ross hammered it down convincingly. There followed a scrappy period where 'Castle managed to make 3 service errors and the team was 8-3 up at the first technical time-out. Barnsley were clinging on for all they were worth, and predictably started to throw in the more unorthodox plays with volleys into space, but 'Castle simply would not stand for it. Jenkins fed Roberts in the middle to make it 11-5. Roberts then went on a service run that took the score to 24-5, a run ended only when Jenkins made a hitting error. It took only one-dide out opportunity and the set was over in just 14 minutes 25-6.

For the second set Saward, Bradbury and Shenton switched positions, and dominant serving from Jenkins gave 'Castle an early 8-1 lead. The home supporters appreciated some scrambling defence from the spirited visitors, but the classy play of 'Castle to constantly open up the middle of the net whether front or back court really pleased the fans. At the mid-point of the set Allen was introduced and immeidately made an impact with an ace from the service line. Barnsley could find no answer and despite a number of visits from the Barnsley captain to the ref stand to query decisions the set was over in 15 minutes.

In set three Shenton was withdrawn as 'Castle moved to a 2-setter system, and initially a spell of errors from the home team gave the visitors a chance of making double figures in the set. Jenkins and Allen were enjoying giving each other the chance to spike and 'Castle's lead started to grow, but it was another claim from Barnsley that the handling of 'Castle's setters was poor that sparked the home team into life. It was unwise of the visitors to go down this route as the hosts clearly took great offence and really turned the screw. A couple of long service runs from 'Castle took the score to 24-7, only for a couple tight hitting errors to make the final score in the set 25-9.

'Castle will now take on Super 8s top team Leeds Carnegie in the 3rd round in three weeks time, the second successive year that 'Castle have had this draw, but a week before that they will take on London Knights in a crucial NVL1 match.

Squad:
Allen, Bradbury, Heath, Jenkins, Lovell, Roberts, Ross, Saward, Shenton