Round 11 of the Victorian Netball League season was held at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night.
It was an entertaining round of netball with some big upsets and strong performances making to race to the finals an intriguing one.
Defending champions, the Boroondara Express cemented themselves inside the championship ladder top four with an 11-goal win against the Peninsula Waves.
Boroondara Head Coach Robynn Pym acknowledged that it was an important victory for the team tonight who now sit on eight wins and three losses.
“We love playing against Peninsula, we always know that we are going to have a good game as it is hard to get the ball off them and they are super fast, so to play them at this time of the season is good for our game,” Pym said.
Through injuries and other commitments, the Express have played almost a completely new starting seven each round this season which Pym believes will be a strength in the race to the finals.
“We have exposed more players to championship who would normally be stars in our division one side. We have not found the consistency yet but we are tracking alright so far.”
The City West Falcons moved to outright top on the Championship ladder after producing a convincing 26-goal win against the ACU Sovereigns.
The Melbourne University Lightning moved back to second after the Wilson Storage Southern Saints signalled their premiership credentials with a dominant 57-42 performance against the Lightning.
The Geelong Cougars ended their three-game losing streak with a 65-49 victory against the Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels.
They were led superbly in attack by Hannah van Gemst who started the game on fire in the opening term, shooting 11 from 11.
Finally, the DC North East Blaze kept themselves in touch with the top four with an 18-goal win against the Monash University Storm.
Captain Micaela Wilson believes it was a crucial win for the Blaze.
“It was a really great win, we had lots of changes and have got a few girls on the court who have come back from injury so it was really consistent from us and one of our better performances this year,” Wilson said.
“We are currently sitting fifth or sixth so we are pushing for finals and the big score tonight helps us if it comes down to percentage at the end of the year.”
The Blaze continued their outstanding form in Division One, defeating the Storm 59-34 to share top spot on the ladder alongside the Falcons.
Both sides have now established an eight-point advantage ahead of the Cougars and Boroondara who round out the top four.
The Cougars are however two rungs higher on the 19/Under ladder after they won their 11th consecutive VNL match this season against the Ariels, 59-34.
The Cougars are a perfect 11 from 11 to start the season with the Sovereigns and Falcons to come in the next two rounds.
Round 12 of the VNL will commence at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday 22 June. Four of the five clashes will take place that night from 7pm AEST. The final fixture of the round will see the ACU Sovereigns host the Geelong Cougars at the Wendouree Sports and Events Centre on Sunday 26 June.
VNL ROUND 11 RESULTS
Championship
Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels 49 v 65 Geelong Cougars
DC North East Blaze 55 v 37 Monash University Storm
Melbourne University Lightning 42 v 57 Wilson Storage Southern Saints
Peninsula Waves 37 v 48 Boroondara Express
ACU Sovereigns 40 v 66 City West Falcons
Division One
DC North East Blaze 59 v 34 Monash University Storm
Melbourne University Lightning 37 v 42 Wilson Storage Southern Saints
Peninsula Waves 54 v 48 Boroondara Express
ACU Sovereigns 35 v 55 City West Falcons
Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels 54 v 66 Geelong Cougars
19/Under
Peninsula Waves 40 v 43 Boroondara Express
ACU Sovereigns 50 v 54 City West Falcons
DC North East Blaze 56 v 31 Monash University Storm
Melbourne University Lightning 40 v 50 Wilson Storage Southern Saints
Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels 34 v 59 Geelong Cougars
For the latest VNL news and statistics, click here.
