Volleyball: Holders Edinburgh step up bid as Troon are dispatched

Champions City of Edinburgh moved back into volleyball play-off territory as they convincingly saw off bottom-of-the-table Troon PA 25-19, 25-21, 25-17 at South Queensferry.

The team could even afford to loan Jamie McHardy out to the second team as they took command from the start and built up an 11-2 lead. Ben Hunter made his return after a month out through injury but was used only sparingly as he was eased gently back into action.

After taking the first set, City let some errors creep into their play before finishing off the second set and they did not look like letting it slip in the third with Simon Hammond having a big influence. The Capital side moved into joint third with Glasgow Mets, who have two matches in hand, and five points clear of fifth-placed Bon Accord, who lost narrowly in five sets to Mets.

Kilmarnock Blaze continue to lead the table with City of Glasgow Ragazzi, who beat Edinburgh Jets 20-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-21 on Saturday, pushing them hard. In the women's first division, Edinburgh Jets' hopes of effectively booking a play-off spot were dashed when they lost in straight sets to Su Ragazzi 25-14, 25-20, 25-16.

It means there is still work to be done with North Lanarkshire also still in the picture after their convincing win over Glasgow International.