TENDRING Volleyball Club's ladies began their season with a 3-0 sweep (25-9, 25-13, 25-11) against the University of East London’s second team, in the second round of the National Cup.

They played with a consistent aggression that carried them through various lineup changes and led to them taking all three sets by a wide margin.

The first set saw setter Kelsey Molnar running the offense, feeding into Nicole Bishop in the middle and opposite Cara Olden, allowing both to have big swings.

In addition, Molnar added a few choice aces in order to gain an early momentum.

Mechell Daniels let her presence be known as well with some big swings and kept serve receive under control alongside libero Liz Leahy.

On the outside, Madison Hunziker had a few well-placed balls and a couple of blocks to secure the first set’s victory at 25-9.

The second set saw an entirely different group from Tendring’s roster but they remained entirely unchanged in their level of play. Outsides Ellie Cranch and Emily Bell played intelligently, consistently keeping balls just out of UEL’s reach.

This set also saw Olden swinging out of the middle, playing opposite to fellow middle Michaela Ping, who found a surprising amount of success in her back-row defense.

Setter Molly Van Essen, despite not having the opportunity to train with many of her new hitters, found an easy rhythm to assist her team to the 25-13 victory.

Especially successful were the back-row attacks from Hunziker and Cranch, who neatly put away balls when the opposition least expected it.

The final set saw yet another new lineup from the Tendring ladies but again maintained the consistent talent seen from the first two sets.

Setter Brianna Root ran the offense while libero Eliana Thomas kept control in the back row.

Molnar saw some action as an opposite in this set and had choice kills on both the left and right side of the net.

With a serving run from Ping at the end of the set, the Tendring ladies completed their well-earned victory at 25-11.

The consistency seen from each lineup bodes well for Tendring, as they will be able to build from a great start to their season.