VOLLEYBALL bosses have seen a surge of interest in the sport after Tendring played a starring role in the Olympics.

A dream came true for budding volleyball players after they met the best in the world at London 2012.

More than 20 members of Tendring Volleyball Club got the chance of a lifetime to rub shoulders with their idols.

They acted as ball boys and line judges - as well as mopping the court between points in a dazzling display of synchronised brushwork.

Most of the youngsters play volleyball at Tendring Technology College.

They were thrilled when they got to work at the nail-biting final between Russia and Brazil.

Club chairman Alex Porter said: "It was an absolutely epic match.

"We literally had the best seats in the house just a couple of metres away from their idols."

The youngsters were "buzzing" after the final.

"They got to meet quite a few of the players," said Alex, who used to play for Great Britain and joined the BBC commentary team for the final.

"There was a 7ft2in Russian - Dmitriy Muserskiy - who had his photo taken with Patricia Hosingco who is just 4ft9in tall."

Club member Sebastian Widlarz was a line judge for the cliff-hanger final.

Alex, from Great Bentley, added: "We've had a lot of interest in the club since the Olympics from people wanting to know how to start playing volleyball."