CLEOBURY Mortimer Ladies got off to a winning start in West Midlands Ladies Volleyball League Division 1 with a 3-2 victory over Kingsbury Comets.

They shaded the first set 25-21 and the second was just as tight with Kingsbury edging it to 26-24 to draw level.

Cleobury got their noses in front again with a 25-22 win in the third, only to be pegged back once more by losing the fourth by the same scoreline.

It all came down to the deciding fifth set which the Mortimer maids won by a convincing 15-4 margin.

The ladies seconds suffered a 3-0 defeat in their Division Two clash at Wolverhampton University. Captain Robyn Slingsby's side lost the first set 25-16, the second 25-7, and the third 25-11. Sarah-Jane Davies was the player-of-the match.

They also gave a good account of themselves in the National Ladies Volleyball League Cup match at Leicester, only to lose 4-1.

With injuries, domestic problems and work commitments robbing them of several key players they fielded a severely weakened squad.

But several of the girls, particularly player-of-the-match Kath Howells and fellow debutant Laura Edwards performed admirably as they won the second set 25-18, but lost the others 25-19, 25-13 and 25-15.