ROUND 15 of Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL) action is done and dusted, as Loughborough Lightning continued its winning streak and Wasps Netball got a vital win on the board against a hungry London Pulse outfit.

Loughborough Lightning (53) defeated Surrey Storm (28)

Player of the match: Alima Priest (Surrey Storm)

Loughborough Lightning went on a rampage in its second game of the round, coming in no holds barred as they flew out of the blocks against Surrey Storm and never looked back on its way to a 13th straight victory. Whilst the Storm got defensively stronger every term, finding new ways to block the Lightning’s easy access to post, the side struggled to hit the scoreboard and had little chance to really challenge the Lightning offensively. The Lightning’s strength was formidable across the court, winning consistent ball back and retaining control across all three lines to limit the storm to single-digit scorelines each term in a clinical performance.

There was no doubting the Lightning front-end in this one, as they skipped out to a 30-13 halftime lead credit to the flawless scoring and execution of Mary Cholhok out the front. With 36 goals to her name at 100 per cent, the tall timber seemed rarely uncomfortable on court and did a wealth of work to open opportunities for not only Ella Clark (10 goals) but also Suzie Liverseidge (five) and Lucy Parize (two) who were afforded game time with the luxury of a significant margin. Despite registering a warning to her name, Sam May made her mark with two intercepts, four deflections and two rebounds to finish with three turnovers, while Beth Cobden and Alice Harvey were similarly impressive, with the latter shutting down Storm’s go-to Australian sharpshooter Karyn Bailey, who was well and truly shut down and could only put up nine goals for the match. Ellie Kelk did a solid job out the front with 11 goals, as did Frankie Wells (seven), however the entire attacking unit had a night to forget on the physicality front, combining for 13 offensive penalties. Alima Priest and Felisitus Kwangwa put up an impressive effort down back despite the lack of attacking intent from the side, picking off four intercepts apiece but unfortunately were rarely awarded for their work rate. That being said, Priest deserves full credit for her ability to disrupt Cholhok and was a deserved recipient of the player of the match award.

Wasps Netball (42) defeated London Pulse (37)

Player of the match: Iona Christian (Wasps Netball)

It was a seesawing matchup between the Wasps and Pulse to close out a huge round of action, as the Pulse put up a phenomenal outing despite missing key pillars in Sigi Burger and Halimat Adio. The Pulse fought until the bitter end, and it took some outrageous efforts from the Wasps to limit their hunt and shut down the excellent Pulse workrate across the court. That being said, it was the Wasps that got the vital win on the board, credit to an excellent first quarter which saw them retain the lead at half time by four goals, and continue to remain ahead of the eight ball despite the Pulse’s final quarter comeback.

Iona Christian has had an excellent season, and it once again came to fruition in yet another player of the match award-winning performance. The midcourter put on a show with her dash and dare, and did not relent throughout the contest as she consistently found Rachel Dunn by the post and allowed Katie Harris to enter the game. Christian was one of four Wasps players to pick up two intercepts apiece in a classy defensive display, despite efforts from Pulse livewire Funmi Fadoju – who also did a solid job shutting down Harris at times, picking up eight turnovers for her efforts – Zara Everitt and Lindsay Keable. While Keable put in the hard yards to cause inaccuracy, a whopping 27 penalties to her name did no favours for the Pulse, as Dunn had plenty of chances to hit the scoreboard undefended to finish with 32 goals from 39 attempts. For the Pulse attack, they were under a Wasps barrage from the get-go but did a solid job holding up under the pressure from Fran Williams (six turnovers) and Josie Huckle (five), as Olivia Tchine put up 25 goals from 32 attempts, while Lefebre Rademan found her range to finish with 12 from 16. All in all it was a performance the Pulse can be proud of despite not getting the win, while the Wasps will be looking to go one better next round.

Picture credit: Ben Lumley Photography