TENDRING Volleyball Club chairman Alex Porter says the fun factor has been a key ingredient in his side's championship success this season.

The club's men's team wrapped up the National League division two south title after a 3-0 canter against Oxford Students on Sunday.

It maintained their unblemished record of 15 wins from 15 games and gave them an unassailable lead over second-placed New Forest.

Porter says the team have fought hard and been ruthless throughout their campaign but also believes the players' desire to have fun and enjoy their volleyball has been a huge part of their success.

"We reached a bit of a crossroads at the end of last season, whereby a lot of players were leaving," he told the Gazette.

"They were moving on for various reasons, including education, work and retirement, and it left us in a position where we couldn't continue running two teams.

"We'd have had to stretch ourselves too thinly and potentially forfeit games, which wouldn't have been unacceptable.

"We had to decide whether to keep running our first division side or our second division one.

"We looked at the travel required and it became a bit of a no-brainer.

"Playing in division one would have seen us make journeys to places like Durham, Cardiff, Sheffield, Stoke and Leeds.

"Division two, in contrast, included trips to Chelmsford, Cambridge and Romford.

"There were a couple of games against Bristol sides, which we played over one weekend, and we also combined the games at New Forest and Exeter.

"Basically, there was much less travelling, which saved us time and expense, and that tipped the scales.

"We just wanted to enjoy this season.

"We wanted to get the fun factor back and with a few of the older guys involved again, in addition to a couple of university lads, we planned not to take ourselves too seriously.

"We always wanted to win games and be competitive but having that relaxed edge has definitely helped us be more successful."

Tendring still have three matches left, including Sunday's fixture at home to London Lynx at Tendring Technology College (1pm start).

Porter is hoping they can continue their proud unbeaten record until the end.

Only one other National League side have achieved the same feat - first division leaders Team Durham.

"It would be great to stay unbeaten and keep the momentum going, heading into next season in division one," he said.

"As a club, we feel better equipped to go up now, rather than playing in the first division this season.

"We've managed to get a number of sponsors on board and they've helped massively.

"They've made life much easier for us off the court and now we want to move forward on it."

Tendring wrapped up the title with two more wins last weekend, although they were chalk and cheese in terms of the opposition.

On Saturday, the Frinton-based side edged a thrilling best-of-five tussle at Cambridge Volleyball Club and Anglia Ruskin University.

Then the next day they romped home in straight sets against Oxford.

"It was a shame the matches didn't come the other way round," said Porter.

"That was due to be the case before the recent snow and postponements led to things being rearranged.

"It would have been great to win the title after beating Cambridge.

"Instead, it was a bit of an anti-climax against a very poor Oxford side."