The Melbourne University Lightning and the City West Falcons have secured their place in the Victorian Netball League (VNL) Championship finals following the completion of Round 15 at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night.
The Lightning moved to the top of the Championship ladder with a 64-52 victory against third-placed Boroondara Express.
“It took all of us out there tonight [to get the win] with a really full-court defensive effort,” Lightning defender Shannon Eagland said.
“After the match we really acknowledged our goalers and midcourters for causing a lot of havoc for them to get it up to Emma [Ryde] in the circle, so we are really happy with that performance.”
The Express won their Division One and 19/Under matches by 10 and seven goals respectively.
The Falcons joined the Lightning in cementing their place inside the Championship top two with a 62-39 win against the Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels.
The Falcons also prevailed in Division One 56-50 while the Ariels won their 19/Under clash 48-39.
Despite recording back-to-back victories for the first time this season with a four goal win against the ACU Sovereigns, the Peninsula Waves’ Championship finals hopes were dashed after the Wilson Storage Southern Saints defeated Monash University Storm.
Head Coach Sally Allen said there’s still plenty to gain from the remaining three matches.
“We would like to think that we are now looking to win every game, looking to improve our game flow and also prepare for next year,” Allen said.
Allen sang special praise for defensive pairing Shannon Rennison and Julia Smith who did a terrific job in restricting the influence of Melbourne Vixen Kim Commane.
“Our two main defenders were out so we brought two up from Division One. They showed their ability to compete and I think that was really exciting.”
The Waves also recorded a narrow 51-48 victory in Division One. The Sovereigns won their 19/Under clash 53-32 to cement themselves in the top four.
In the match of the Round, the Geelong Cougars and the DC North East Blaze produced a thrilling draw in their 19/Under match.
Both sides had a chance to win it in the final minute, but ended up 40 goals apiece.
The Blaze maintained their spot on top of the Division One ladder with a nine goal win before capping off a great night of netball with a 57-49 win in Championship.
In other results, the Storm defeated the Saints in Division One 45-33, while the Saints won their 19/Under match by 21 goals.
Round 16 of the VNL will commence on Monday 18 July when the Boroondara Express host Monash University Storm at the Boroondara Sports Centre.
VNL Round 15 Results
Championship
Peninsula Waves 53 def 49 ACU Sovereigns
City West Falcons 62 def 39 Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels
Wilson Storage Southern Saints 66 def 50 Monash University Storm
Boroondara Express 52 def by 64 Melbourne University Lightning
Geelong Cougars 49 def by 57 DC North East Blaze
Division One
Monash University Storm 45 def 33 Wilson Storage Southern Saints
DC North East Blaze 55 def 46 Geelong Cougars
Boroondara Express 56 def 46 Melbourne University Lightning
City West Falcons 56 def 50 Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels
Peninsula Waves 51 def 48 ACU Sovereigns
19/Under
Boroondara Express 40 def 33 Melbourne University Lightning
Geelong Cougars 40 drew 40 DC North East Blaze
ACU Sovereigns 53 def 32 Peninsula Waves
Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels 48 def 39 City West Falcons
Wilson Storage Southern Saints 59 def 38 Monash University Storm
