Vipers Women and Men Both Win Bronze in 2023 Super League

The Melbourne Vipers have claimed Bronze in the 2023 Scape Australian Volleyball Super League Women’s competition, defeating the Adelaide Storm 3-1 at Red Energy Arena in Bendigo.

Adelaide Storm started strongly, getting out to an early lead in the opening set and putting the Vipers on the back foot trailing by five points. Melbourne improved slightly to close the gap, and at 11-13 coach Karl Lim called their first PowerPlay which his Vipers used to change the momentum, winning two out of three rally points and then running away to win the set 18-14.

The Storm started the second set in a similar fashion to the first, jumping out to an early lead, but this time they didn’t give it up, leveling up the match and winning the set 13-18.

The Vipers then won the first 12 rallies of the third set unanswered to blow the Storm out of the water. Caitlin Waterfall was inspirational with her serving during that run, and Melbourne won the set comfortably 18-6 to put them at a big advantage in the quest for the Bronze.

Adelaide again started the fourth set better, opening up another early lead, only to get reeled back in once again by the Vipers on the back of some precision finishing by Jemma Stokes and some brilliant saves by Libero Rochelle Sisson-Lim. With momentum all in favour of the Vipers, they wiped off a seven point deficit to win the set 18-15 and claim the Bronze Medal.

Melbourne Vipers Men have finished the 2023 Scape Australian Volleyball Super League season as Bronze medallists, defeating the Canberra Heat 3-0 in a dominant display at Red Energy Arena in Bendigo.

A fiercely contested first set saw the sides trade blows and stay within touch of each other for the duration, taking it beyond the 18 points until Melbourne could eventually get a lead by two to win the set 21-19.

The second set was a much more straightforward affair, with Paul Sanderson, Scott Johnson, Nick Boesten, and Damian Whitburn all contributing heavily to a dominant 18-8 Vipers set win. The third set was even more one-sided, with the Vipers running away with it 18-4 to claim the Bronze medal in emphatic fashion.