THE Jersey men’s volleyball team, HLB Jackson Fox, are preparing for a EVA National Plate quarter final appearance – the first ever to be held in the Island – after having been drawn to face Stowmarket.

The home tie on 14 February, hopefully at Haute Vallée School, against the English National Division III side, follows the tremendous second round victory over Division II Wessex last weekend.

Stowmarket, one of the tops clubs in Suffolk, were founded in 1976 and play all year round, indoors or on the beach. ‘That was a fine victory Wessex, and is good as part of the preparations for the Island Game this year,’ said team manager Steve Rowe. ‘It was a great comeback in the fifth set. Being 3-8 down it could have been easy for players’ heads to drop and concede the match, but they showed great character to turn it around.’

The match started brightly for the full-strength squad, and the early exchange of rallies went HLB Jackson Fox’s way. However, the young Wessex team stayed in touch throughout the set and even when it looked like Jersey had the set wrapped up at 24-21 they kept the pressure on, forcing errors on the Jersey side, and they eventually claimed it 29-27.