Battersea beach volleyballer Mumby excited by Scotland challenge – South London News

BY MAX HALL

Battersea beach volleyballer Daisy Mumby has promised an entertaining affair when she and partner Jessica Grimson take to the sand in Smithfield Market against Scotland on Tuesday.

Mumby and Grimson cruised through their opening game, winning 21-10, 21-6 against the Solomon Islands and serving their opponents into submission.

“We were playing a team that we didn’t really know much about,” Mumby told the South London Press.

“Solomon Islands haven’t really made it out on to the World Tour much. We didn’t have so much video to watch of them. Going in, we knew we were going to have to serve strong and should just expect anything back. I think we put them under a lot of pressure with our serve, which maybe they’re not quite used to. I’ve just been told that we got 16 aces between the two of us, so that’s pretty good.”

Mumby, who recently moved to Bournemouth, said she was unaware how many of those were down to her but one of them came to take England to set point at 20-10 in the opening set, with Mumby going on to claim the deciding point.

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The England star then dropped in another booming serve for 5-1 in a more one-sided second set before Grimson took over with some huge serves.

It could be a different affair for Tuesday’s game, against familiar opponents.

Referring to Scotland, Mumby said: “We’ve played them several times on the domestic tour. Head-to-head I’m not sure what the score is but it’ll be a good game. We know them quite well; they know us quite well. We train together and against each other so it’ll be a good match.”

Mumby, who started playing beach volleyball at school and at the University of Sussex, said there are plenty of opportunities for people to try their hand at the sport in South London.

“There’s a few beach volleyball clubs in London, like Crystal Palace, one in Leyton. They do loads of kids’ activities and go into school sports. Hopefully, after this there will be a huge boost for beach volleyball.”

To achieve that, Mumby and Grimson are targeting the last four.

“Our goal as a team is to make the semis,” said Mumby. “I think that’s definitely reachable, depending on our route. If we manage to finish the group on top then we’ll have an easier route, fingers crossed.

“For me personally, I just want to play some good volleyball. My family’s here to watch and I just want to make them proud and show what England volleyball’s made of.”

PICTURES: MAX HALL

https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/commonwealth-games-battersea-beach-volleyballer-mumby-excited-by-scotland-challenge/

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