By Max Drinkwater-James
The first Varsity fixture of 2024 between University of South Wales and University of the West of England ended in farcical circumstances.
The men’s volleyball clash at the Sport Park was abandoned after the third set following debate about USW bringing on a female player.
The switch was met with confusion from UWE as there were separate fixtures set out for the men’s and women’s teams to play and no mention of a mixed gender game.
With no satisfactory resolution found and confusion over the rules, the encounter continued in bizarre fashion, with no competitiveness between the two sides and players leaving the court to do their own training.
Fans and players were left bemused by events, with some questioning what the rule-book said.
It was all far from an ideal opening to what had originally promised to be a high quality fixture.
I’m here at my first ever varsity for @USWSportsJourno covering the men’s volleyball fixture against @UWEVolleyball
Match report to follow📝 pic.twitter.com/0b0EdTXWqd— Max Drinkwater-James (@MaxDrinkwater9) March 20, 2024
The visitors stormed into a one set lead after an opening set USW would hope to forget.
A number of USW mistakes let UWE’s Dominic Jordan lethal serve cause damage.
UWE exuded positivity and an impressive first set, during which they were roared on by a boisterous bunch of travelling supporters, saw them establish a 25-20 lead.
USW bounced back in the second set with a far more efficient performance, cutting out their earlier mistakes and giving themselves a way back into the game.
A frustrated UWE team looked startled by their opponents’ improvement, with the visitors losing 25-19.
The game then took a dramatic turn in the third set as the confusion over the participants began.
For the contest to end being scrapped was a deeply unsatisfactory outcome that made for a frustrating beginning to the second annual varsity event between these two universities.