Vipers Men Chill the Heat in 5-Set Thriller

The Melbourne Vipers men collected their first win of the season, a 3-2 five-set thriller against the Canberra Heat at Lyneham, in round 2 of the Scape Australian Volleyball Super League.

In an epic see-sawing match the Heat claimed the first set 18-13, on the back of some strong hitting from Volleyroo Matt Aubrey and excellent block pressure from fellow Australian team member and local cult hero figure James Weir.  Weir was the standout for the Heat all night as he revelled playing in front of his home crowd.

Melbourne turned it around in the second set with excellent service pressure from captain Nick Boesten and Paul Sanderson making it difficult for the Heat in attack. A knee concern for Vipers youngster Scott Johnson forced a position change with Shamsher Singh coming on as the opposite and Dylan Lucchesi moving into the reception lineup. 

While the Heat were able to claim the third set with a tightly fought 18-16 win, the Vipers were growing in confidence and put in their best display in the fourth set winning 9-18.

Two sets a piece the game went down to the wire in the fifth set, with the Vipers winning the set 14-18. Sanderson was the top scorer for the match with 15 points, including five aces, and Shamsher Singh was strong in attack and on serve with 7 points from just 3 sets.