Mixed results were the order of the day for Phantoms Volleyball Club after round six of the Victorian Volleyball League.
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Premier Men
It was a classic case of so close yet so far for the Premier Men who lost both games against Monash after being in winning positions in each.
"It's a frustrating position to be in losing close matches, but to be in the contest against the top teams is a sign we are moving in the right direction," said key setter Matthew Berry.
"We just need to be better in the back end of sets, play aggressive and continue to play the way that got us in the contest in the first place," he said.
The men face another huge task this week when they take on Mazenod, who they lost to in five sets in round one.
"We are determined to keep our finals hopes alive and beat Mazenod, but we know it's going to be another massive game for us," Berry said.
Premier women
The Premier women created a little bit of history for the club, when for the first time they took sets off Monash, even though they fell short in the end, going down in both matches in four sets.
"They were very good and proved why they played off in the final last year," said number one setter Kara Johnson.
"They were aggressive on serve which resulted in our passing to be erratic, while we failed to put them under the same pressure, which enabled their setters to have an armchair ride.
"In saying that our afternoon match was of a much higher standard and we showed we can compete against the best, but like the men, sustaining our standard over the course of a high level match is something we need to get better at," Johnson said.
The girls have a return match against Heidelberg this round, who they beat in five sets three weeks ago.
"If we can bring the intensity and enjoyment we displayed in the second match against Monash we will give ourselves every chance of a win," said Johnson.
The Reserves men also came up short losing two highly entertaining matches in four sets.
Tim Popple's division two team split their results and Shaun Bray's division two team lost both.
On the positive side, Delaney Wills' reserves girls split their results, likewise Chloe Brown's division two team.
The division three girls made it three five set wins on the trot to edge closer to the top four.
The club is looking forward to playing at Mazenod this weekend as part of Founders Weekend, which is a very popular event on the school calendar for all Mazenod sporting teams.
"We are happy to be a part of this weekend with Mazenod, which will add some extra motivation for all our teams to get a win," said Matthew Berry.
"We all should be confident in how we have been playing recently against the top teams to achieve our goals," Berry said.
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