A 3-0 triumph means UCL regains the Varsity title from KCL after losing last year 2-1.
A KCL side brimming with confidence after seeing their mixed and women’s teams’ respective victories over UCL pushed the Purples hard at the start of the game while their (over) confidence came to the fore with the side-in-red initiating a lot of backchat at the net.
UCL Captain and third-year Economics student Bryan Yeo exuded exemplary calmness in the face of the King’s team, inspiring his players to find composure and build confidence.
Star player Henry De Lima — formerly of England Under-18 — shone in the first set, with spikes that wowed the crowd and ultimately helped UCL win the first set 21-16.
The momentum in the second set swung back and forth between the two sides as they jostled for control of the set. KCL opted for very frequent substitutions in a bid to find a sequence of plays that would unlock UCL.
However, this was to no avail for King’s as momentum was seized by UCL who were only growing in confidence while being spurred on by calls of “Let’s go UCL, let’s go!” from the UCL faithful.
Once again, society president-elect De Lima showed his talent with a serve that literally and figuratively floored the opposition players leaving fans of both sides in fits of incredulous laughter. Furthermore, twice De Lima jumped as if about to spike, but only gently touched the ball, causing it to fall just beyond the net, catching KCL players off-guard.
By this point, the swashbuckle confidence and backchat from KCL players had evaporated.
And so the second set followed the first in being won by UCL. In the break before the third and what would be the final set, the KCL captain was left pondering his regrettable UCAS application to Stand Polytechnic over a packet of Sour Patch sweets (other brands of sweets are available)!
The third set began as the second had finished off — with UCL leading. The highlight of the third set was an extremely long and dramatic rally requiring many athletic dives from both sides to save the ball from hitting the floor. This rally ended controversially with UCL winning the point.
The decision was challenged by KCL's captain but the referee stuck to her decision. This was followed by a KCL player angrily striding up to the referee and then shouting that her decision was “wrong”!
He was immediately shown a yellow card much to the amusement of the small group of UCL supporters.
On the other hand, the much larger contingent of KCL supporters who had come to watch the game at Bacon’s College in Rotherhithe, had been completely silenced by this point in time. This was in stark contrast to their loud enthusiasm earlier during the preceding women’s match.
As the third and final set went to UCL 21-14, there were jubilant scenes with UCL players embracing each other and forming a huddle while UCL supporters came on to the court to celebrate.
This 3-0 victory to UCL was the culmination of UCL’s prowess and composure in the face of a KCL side who started the game brimming with confidence.