Shetland celebrate double of inter-county victories in volleyball and darts
SHETLAND completed a darting double over rivals Orkney in the annual men’s and women’s inter-county matches late last week.
The blues travelled to Kirkwall hoping to retain the titles that they won in Shetland 12 months ago, and to add to the men’s B team’s success in Lerwick earlier this month.
After the even early stages of the ladies county, the reds started to build up a sizeable lead – moving 4-2 and then eventually 6-3 ahead in the first to 11 encounter.
But the blues battled back, and despite falling 7-5 behind they turned it around to lead 8-7.
The see-saw tie swung back in Orkney’s favour before Shetland moved to the brink of victory at 10-9, and double 11 helped them to seal an overall 11-10 win and to retain the inter-county trophy.
Next up were the men on Friday night, with a mix of youth and experience seeking to beat their rivals on their own patch.
Again the early stages were even, with the teams tied at 2-2, before wins for Stuart Paul and Aiden Couper moved Shetland 4-2 up.
Shetland held an 8-4 lead heading into the doubles, and Ryan Inkster and Richard Hughson’s victory then left them on the brink of triumph at 10-5.
It was left up to the doubles pair of Liam Sutherland and Roger Irvine to seal the win, with a 92 checkout from Irvine confirming Shetland would make it a clean sweep across this year’s darts county matches.
There was also a double success for Shetland on the volleyball courts at the weekend in their annual county clashes.
The men’s team saw off Orkney 3-0, resoundingly taking the opening two sets 25-16, 25-18.
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Strong performances from Finlay Kirkness, Joshua Morrison and Wayne Leask ensured the home team ran all over their opponents in the opening stages, opening up a commanding lead.
Orkney briefly managed to take a three-point advantage in set three, their first of the match, but the blues fought back to edge 23-22 and to the cusp of victory.
In a nail-biting finish Shetland held their nerve and sealed the set through outstanding teamwork and determination, with an eventual 25-23 victory in the last set.
There was also a rollercoaster win for the Shetland mixed side against Orkney, eventually getting over the line 3-2.
They moved 1-0 up through a 25-21 win in set one, but set wins of 25-20 and 25-17 for Orkney put them just one set away from victory.
However the home side dug in to take it to a deciding set, narrowly winning 25-22, before getting over the line with a 15-11 win in the decider to take the victory.
There was not to be a triple though, with Orkney winning the women’s inter-county match 3-0.
Shetland pushed their opponents all the way but fell 23-25 in an incredibly tight and competitive set one, before Orkney showed their skill to take set two 25-10.
In the final set Shetland started brightly and for the first time edged into the lead, before a strong serving run from Orkney shifted the momentum back to them.
Despite Shetland’s continued effort and resilience, Orkney secured a 25-15 win to take the victory.
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