IN-FORM Wessex Rocare climbed to fourth place in the Super 8s championship following a lengthy but worthwhile trek to Manchester.

The Dorset ladies were rewarded for making the five-hour journey when they registered a 3-0 win over City of Salford on Saturday.

Victories against Swiss Cottage and Portsmouth in the National Volleyball League had given Wessex a chance to move into the top four.

And they showed they were in no mood to waste their opportunity as they bagged the opening set in Salford by a 25-21 margin.

In the second set, Vicky Palmer and Annie Tinker embarked on some fantastic service runs before a time-out from coach Geoff Allen restored focus to secure a 25-14 success.

London 2012 Olympian Zara Dampney led the way in the third set as Wessex continued to take control.

As the game went on, blocking by Natalia Jutkiewicz and Lizzie Smith became stronger and Wessex closed out the match with a 25-15 set success.

Super Saturday this weekend sees Wessex Rocare hosting Ashcombe Dorking, while Wessex LeAF BU Men entertain London Lynx.

  • LEAF Elite Athlete Volleyball Academy remained undefeated to reach a national final in Norwich in February.

Players from Wessex and Malory SGTV Solent made the team from Oakmead LeAF Academy at the Volleyball Student Cup in Ashcombe.

And despite facing much bigger squads from a number of colleges and universities, they stormed into the cup finals in emphatic fashion.

Having seen off University College London and University of Surrey 2-0, LeAF also claimed 2-0 victories over University of London Union and Brighton University as they booked their trip to Norwich, where they will be joined by a team from Bournemouth University.

  • Wessex Junior Men debutant Miguel Espinoza produced a stunning performance to help his team to a 3-1 win against Plymouth and a 3-0 victory over Bristol.

The 17-year-old from Venezuela showed power in attack and fantastic blocking skills as Wessex dominated.

Wessex defeated Plymouth 25-16 22-25 25-10 25-12 before beating Bristol 25-21 25-22 25-20.

Wessex: Joel Roberts, Miguel Espinoza, Gervaise Bynoe, Harry Jones, Peter Rowe, Will Van Wingerden, Nic Morris, Lyle Anderton, Dave Corbin, Ben Torrens.