LOUGHBOROUGH Lightning and Team Bath will double-up over the last two days of the long weekend in the Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL). Both sides did not play in Round 7 over Friday and Saturday, and will now go back-to-back over Sunday and Monday as Round 8 takes place straight after Round 7.

Sunday, March 13 @ 2:00pm
Surrey Sports Park

Opening up the quick turnaround between Round 7 and Round 8 is a Saracens Mavericks side fresh off a bounce-back win against Strathclyde Sirens overnight to hopefully get back on track with back-to-back wins. This time they take on a Surrey Storm outfit who will be heartened by a hard-fought battle against the in-form London Pulse, but they ultimately fell short in that contest.

Though Ine-Mari Venter has done the bulk of the scoring this season, the Mavericks showed last match that Kadeen Corbin and Britney Clarke can more than hold their own. Razia Quashie, Jodie Gibson and Player of the Match in Round 7, Aliyah Zaranyika formed a strong trio in the back third and will be important here. The Storm will try and take advantage in the midcourt with Mikki Austin and Yasmin Parsons, whilst Peace Proscovia has been near-unstoppable at the post.

Sunday, March 13 @ 2:00pm
Team Bath Arena

Team Bath did not take to the court in Round 7 and this will be the first match since the announcement of Serena Guthrie‘s pregnancy and retirement, with the blue and gold certainly ready for a big performance against bottom two side Celtic Dragons. After promising signs in recent weeks, the Dragons really struggled against Wasps in what was a huge chance to go back-to-back, falling by a disappointing 23 goals.

The international defensive combination of Phumza Maweni and Serena Guthrie has certainly proved to be a steady one for the Bath lineup. The will look to utilise their experience to restrict Georgia Rowe and Lefébre Rademan, whilst ex-Lightning defender Annabel Roddy will have a huge job up against Roses international talent Sophie Drakeford-Lewis up the other end in a key to the game.

Sunday, March 13 @ 4:00pm
Sir David Wallace Arena

Coming in off a big win, Wasps Netball will be relieved to finally get on the board, but now they face a fresh Loughborough Lightning outfit. Unfortunately for the visitors, this poses a very different challenge to the one they easily overcame against Celtic Dragons. The Lightning are 5-0 this season, and will be playing the first of two games over the long weekend to try and keep touch with top of the table Manchester Thunder, so this is simply a must-win.

Not having to play yet this weekend, the Lightning will be managing the lineup over the next two days, with the bench talents potentially crucial in seeing all the players fit and firing across the matches. Beth Cobden and Natalie Panagarry are always crucial players for the Lightning, but Ella Bowen and Ella Clark have a great impact when on the court. The big talking point will be ex-Wasps defender and Roses talent Fran Williams up against her former side. After finally getting the important win, the Wasps will be keen to keep the momentum going, with shooter Rachel Dunn vital, and the defensive combination of Ella Powell-Davies and Josie Huckle important, whilst Iona Christian is a great link in transition.

Monday, March 14 @ 5:30pm
Team Bath Arena

This will be the second game for both these sides in as many days, after having both Friday and Saturday off in Round 7. The match looms as a crucial one for Bath who have just slipped out of the top four down to sixth, and if they can collect back-to-back wins they could be right back in contention, whilst the Lightning will keep in touch with Manchester Thunder with back-to-back wins.

Monday, March 14 @ 7:00pm
Copper Box Arena

London Pulse will be looking for their second win of the weekend when they host a slipping Strathclyde Sirens. Despite having plenty of spirited losses, the Sirens are, at the end of the day, still losing. Now the Glasgow-based side have slipped to a 2-5 win-loss record this season, but are far better than that record may suggest. The Pulse are the in-form team of the competition outside of the Thunder, and look outstanding across the court.

Olivia Tchine is in some ripping form for the Pulse this season, with multiple Player of the Match honours in 2022. She is combining well with Sacha McDonald in the shooting circle, whilst up the other end Funmi Fadoju and Zara Everitt have been impressive throughout the year, the former in particularly dominant each week. The Pulse defence will need to contain the Sirens attack of Niamh McCall and Bethan Goodwin, though Gia Abernethy will need to step up in the midcourt absence of Bethany Dix who was forced to miss this weekend due to Health and Safety Protocols.