Essex volleyball stars enjoy international success

A staggering mix of talented student-athletes and Essex legends competed for England and Scotland in the inaugural Five Nations Championships at the National Volleyball Centre.

Oscar Curzon-Hall, Jacob Lloyd-Williams, Saskia Freitas Schoeffel and Cath Tolley won their first senior caps for England at the Five Nations, with the men’s team winning Gold and the women’s team winning Silver. Meanwhile, the Scotland men’s team captained by Euan Fraser took Silver.

Adding to our sense of pride, several Essex legends also competed for England – with alumni Chester Searle and Molly Van Essen featuring in the tournament.

Their combined performance led to the England teams being crowned the Dr Don Anthony Trophy Champions for the best-performing nations across both genders – narrowly edging Scotland.

Student-athletes from Essex also featured in the Novotel Cup in Luxembourg this month. Thomas Jefferson captained England and was joined by Thomas Shatimehin as a starter for England.

Both England squads brought home Silver medals with Lilla Whittaker and Asher Miller making their senior debuts for the women's team and the men’s team including another Essex legend - Cameron Rhodes.

• Find out more about the volleyball performance sport programme at the University of Essex

Coach Alex Porter said: “It is amazing to see how many student-athletes and alumni from the University of Essex are now competing on the international stage with players connected to Essex enjoying incredible success for both England and Scotland. The first Five Nations Championships was a fantastic celebration of the strength of volleyball internationally and it was great to see further debuts for Essex players at the Novotel Cup. We’re really excited about the year ahead and seeing the international impact of our student-athletes.”