Surrey Storm Netball will travel to the Midlands on Saturday evening to take on Loughborough Lightning in round 5 of the 2015 Superleague season.
Loughborough Lightning v Surrey Storm
2015 Netball Superleague- Round 5
Saturday 21st February 2015, 6pm
Loughborough University Netball Centre
Storm will be looking to keep a hold of their 2nd place spot in the Superleague table this weekend, following another straight forward win over Celtic Dragons at Surrey Sports Park last Saturday.
A dominating performance from the first centre pass handed Surrey an unassailable lead from the first quarter break, and they never looked back despite both sides making numerous squad rotation changes throughout the game to take a 66-49 win over the Superleague’s basement side.
The match saw Coach Greenway name a changed starting line-up while keeping the legs on court fresh throughout the fixture, proving the depth in talent throughout the squad.
Amongst those changes former Mavericks defender Josie Huckle earned her first start in a duck egg dress, in a first half performance which saw her become a contender for player of the match.
“It was great to get my first start for Storm,” Huckle said. “I came here to challenge for a starting place every week and I am glad I was able to get the chance to prove myself within a very competitive squad.
“Dragons started the game slowly and I was able to get in a few confidence-boosting interceptions early on, which really gave me a push to keep working hard and pressurising their attack.”
Saturday’s opponents Loughborough Lightning have two wins to their name so far this season and will therefore be setting their sights on a victory if they are to stay hot on the heels of the top 4.
Head Coach Karen Atkinson, whom Huckle is familiar with from her time at Hertfordshire, changed the direction of the Lightning squad over the summer months after her move from Mavericks with a number of key imported signings, which Josie believes will come good once the team have time to settle.
“Making so many changes in your squad is disruptive and it takes time to gel. But I have no doubt that Loughborough will be picking up wins very shortly.
“Their squad is stronger than in previous seasons and in Karen [Atkinson] they have a coach who is passionate, committed and doesn’t just want to compete in this league, but wants to win games too.
“This game will be very different to the last. We will still be looking to come away with the win though and the squad is confident and in great shape!”
Coach Greenway could look to further rotate the squad against Loughborough after trialling new combinations against Celtic Dragons last weekend. Tickets for the match are SOLD OUT but we will have updates on Facebook and Twitter from 6pm.