THE ACADEMY of Beach Sports earned the compliments of their opponents as they finished fifth at the Volleyball England National Under-15s Championships.

Their fighting spirit, strong defence and tough serving impressed as they drew two matches and lost one in Birmingham.

Head coach Denise Austin said: "Our team fought hard, there was no individual standout performance as they all contributed.

"I was so very proud of the way they played, you couldn't have asked for much more."

Mismatched against the tall Ernest Bevin College team from London, ABS took a surprise 11-5 lead.

But the hitting power of Ernest Bevin brought them back into the match and when ABS lost their rhythm the top seeds took the match 2-0.

ABS failed to take control against a beatable Seavol side from Wigan and drew 1-1, the same result they earned against one of the favourites, Newcastle Staff.

"Coaches were admiring the technique of our players and their team spirit," said Austin.

"Those are things which we can learn and control. With the height thing, you just use what you have and try to beat taller opponents with different styles.

"Our serving and receive has to be spot on otherwise we can't hang in there.

"When that was good we competed really well because some teams just don't know what to do when it keeps coming back at them and they panic."

Academy of Beach Sports: Sam Roach (capt), Sam Dunbavin (vice-capt), Haydn Lawson, Will Hartnoll, Billy Hinson, Callum Josselyn, Liam Ward.