Vitality Netball Superleague: Round 11 review | Netball News

Manchester Thunder remain at the top of the Vitality Netball Superleague table; last year’s champions Loughborough Lightning sit behind them in second position; Round 12 commences on Friday night with Surrey Storm versus Team Bath Netball live on Sky Sports’ YouTube channel

Loughborough Lightning won both of their matches in Round 11 (Image credit: Ben Lumley)

Loughborough Lightning returned to winning ways in Round 11 of the Vitality Netball Superleague, while Manchester Thunder maintained their 100 per cent record.

After Round 10 featured two postponed matches due to Covid-19 cases within camps, this latest round of the Vitality Netball Superleague was able to be competed in full.

Following the six matches, Manchester Thunder remain three points clear at the top of the table ahead of last year’s champions Loughborough Lightning. London Pulse are third with Saracens Mavericks currently occupying the fourth play-off spot.

At the other end of the table, Celtic Dragons and Severn Stars have both won only one match each this season and occupy the bottom two positions.

Round 12 commences on Friday night with Surrey Storm versus Team Bath Netball at Surrey Sports Park. The match will be streamed live on the Sky Sports YouTube channel.

Saracens Mavericks’ meeting with Celtic Dragons is the other streamed match on Saturday afternoon, before Leeds Rhinos Netball against Strathclyde Sirens is live on Sky Sports Main Event on Monday night.

In Round 10’s opening match, Lightning produced an exceptional first quarter at the Copper Box Arena to put the match out of London Pulse’s reach. The 20-6 score after 15 minutes set Lightning on course for victory, and even allowed them to lose the final quarter 14-12.

Shooter Mary Cholhok delivered 53 of Lightning’s 64 goals and they were also able to overcome Nat Panagarry suffering an injury during the match.

Then, against Leeds Rhinos Netball on Monday night, Victoria Burgess’ outfit used the second quarter to regather the lead and finish strongly at the Sir David Wallace Arena.

Last year’s champions were Panagarry, Ella Clark and Ella Bowen due to injury and illness but have a bye weekend in Round 12 before the competition’s Easter double-header weekend.

On Sunday afternoon, Surrey Storm overcame a slower start to beat Severn Stars at Surrey Sports Park.

Stars came out of the blocks firing, as their strong shooting partnership of Cat Tuivaiti and Paige Reed caused issues for Alima Priest and Leah Middleton.

With Tuivaiti and Reed on top, the former was able to produce her signature no-look passes and trademark flair. Reed’s understanding of her team-mate’s work enabled the visitors to press ahead and hold a four-goal lead at the first pause.

However, Proscovia Peace’s final last-second goal for Surrey Storm was a sign of what was to come from the home team.

In the second quarter, Stars extended their lead slightly before Storm began to find Peace and use her range and ability to its full extent. The result was an 18-14 quarter in Storm’s favour and a 31-30 half-time advantage.

Stars made a wealth of changes at half-time as Tuivaiti, Katie Harris, Iman Thomas and Dee Bolakoro all dropped to the bench, while Storm settled back into their groove.

As a unit, Storm fed off the crowd and further tallies of 19 and 18 goals in the third and fourth quarters, enabled them to stamp their authority on the fixture.

Elsewhere in Round 11, Team Bath Netball picked up maximum points from their trip to Glasgow. Anna Stembridge’s outfit produced four consistent quarters and a solid defensive display which included 12 interceptions.

At the University of Essex, Saracens Mavericks overcame Wasps in the feature match on Monday night and Thunder’s nine-goal victory over Celtic Dragons maintained their perfect record for the season.