The final stages of pre-season training end in another victory for IBB Polonia

On saturday 23rd September, IBB Polonia was invited to take part in a pre-season tournament at the University of Essex. Piotr Graban’s charges did not lose a single match and as a result ensured victory at last pre-season event.

There were four teams taking part; of which three (IBB Polonia London, Richmond Docklands, London Lynx) play in the Super 8 division. The fourth team – Essex VB – were the organisers. The matches were played to the best of three sets.

– “I am delighted with the way we played. We tried a number of ideas that we have been working on for over a month, and we can say that they worked! We still have a number of issues that require some work, but we are heading in the right direction. We are not looking at immediate results, but at longer term gains based on very strong foundations. Our team is very young and ambitious, and so we must be patient working for the whole season.” – commented Piotr Graban; Head Coach IBB Polonia London.

IBB Polonia London remain undefeated in the pre-season phase; a good place to be as the team enter the start of the league. The first match of the season is an away game. On Saturday 30th September 2017, IBB Polonia London make the short journey to Kingston College Arena where the opponents will be Richmond Docklands. The match starts at 5pm (London time). The next match, also an away fixture, is against Sussex United in the Cup. The first home game is 14th October where the opponents will be Sheffield Hallam – the runners up in the 2016-17 season.

The 2017-18 season will see new challenges for the Champions of England. This season the goal is the NEVZA Club Championships. This edition of the event is for the champions of counties in the North European zone: England, Denmark, Iceland, Norway. The first phase is a group phase (nine teams, three groups and three teams in each group) where three teams will face each other. The matches take place between 3-5th November 2017. IBB Polonia London take on Ishøj Volley from Denmark and Ballklubb Tromsø from Norway. The finals weekend will be at the end of January 2018.

– „We are not thinking about NEVZA yet. We know we have some very demanding matches to come this season and hope that volleyball fans overseas come to realise the ability of the players and teams from England” – added Piotr Graban.

The entire fixture list can be seen on the IBB Polonia London website.

Saturday results:
IBB Polonia London – Essex VB 2:0 (25:19; 25:21)
IBB Polonia London – London Lynx 2:0 (25:20; 25:22)
IBB Polonia London – Richmond Docklands 2:1 (22:25; 25:22; 15:13)