Essex battling for BUCS Big Wednesday success after record-breaking year

Both the Essex Blades women’s basketball and volleyball teams will be vying for glory in the finals, in what is Higher Education’s biggest sporting event of the year.

You can watch all the action live on the BUCS YouTube channel with our basketball team playing at 7pm and our volleyball team playing at 8pm on Wednesday 20 March.

Essex will be further represented in Loughborough by tennis stars Abby Fung and Carlos Corser, with the duo going for gold in the women’s and men’s competitions respectively.

Action-packed

The British Universities and Colleges Sports pits the best higher education sports teams and players against one another across two action-packed days.

It will be a first ever appearance in the final for the Essex Blades Women’s Volleyball Team, who secured their place following a comprehensive 3-0 win over Newcastle University last week.

The team has won by the same score line in 11 of its 12 games this season.

Develop and flourish

Head Coach Alex Chinery said: “I love that the environment here at Essex has been built into one that allows both undergraduate and English athletes to develop and flourish.

“This is a special group, of special women, so I am not surprised they continue to make history.

“Whilst other universities are trying their hardest to match what we can do here, there is no better environment for young undergraduate volleyball athletes to develop their skills than here at Essex.”

Record representation

Ahead of next week’s finals, Susy Davies, Performance Sport Manager, said: “This year’s success and record representation at BUCS Big Wednesday demonstrates why Essex is the number one sporting institution in the Eastern region.

“Our volleyball and basketball teams, as well as Abby and Carlos, have shown incredible dedication and commitment in securing their spots in the finals and show how the work we are doing with our performance sports is bringing great rewards.

“I wish all the teams every success and have no doubt that they will do Essex proud.”

Essex has had a barnstorming year in regional BUCS competitions throughout the season, with all four performance volleyball and basketball teams winning the BUCS Premier League South titles.

Essex’s men's and women’s tennis teams have also won BUCS South Eastern Tier 1 titles and will contest the playoffs for a Premier League spot next season.