After losing to first division side Bristol in the EVA Knock-out Cup, SGTV Solent Men found themselves travelling the 175 miles to Stowmarket in the Shield competition last weekend. Thankfully they were able to return with a 3-1 win under their belts and look forward to the next round in January.

On paper Solent should have dispatched Stowmarket without too much problem, even with the depleted squad that they took to East Anglia.

In the first set everything went according to plan and Solent worked solidly as a team to cruise to a 25-14 win.

It seemed simple just to keep things as they were and rack up two more sets. Alas, in the second set Solent seemed to start sensing some glory. The passing was still good but the hitters had a touch of the red mist' and for point after point found themselves stopped by a stubborn Stowmarket block. Solent left it too late to make changes and found themselves embarassingly on the wrong end of the same 25-14 scoreline.

Time for a team talk and Simon Trueick got the team back into the right frame of mind. A bit of composure and some excellent hitting throughout from Ian Coombs soon saw Solent back on to the straight and narrow as they romped away with the third set 25-16 in just 15 minutes.

Stowmarket put up a bit of resistance at the start of the fourth set but Solent setter Neal Pattenden persevered to hitters Adam Philips and Truieck and the opposing defence crumbled. Fourth set to Solent 25-19 for a 3-1 win booking them a place in the next round on January 13th at home to local rivals Guildford International.