Volleyball: Coach has his work cut out

Scotland men's volleyball coach Simon Loftus has plenty to ponder ahead of the European "C" Championship finals in Andorra in the spring after watching his side finish third in the Novotel Cup in Luxembourg.

The Scots, including City of Edinburgh pair Barry McGuigan and Mike Penny, finished on a high by beating American students Stevens College (New Jersey) 19-25, 25-17, 25-19, 16-25, 15-11 in their final match.

Scotland competed in all of their matches and, while they failed to take a set in their match against Luxembourg, the 27-29, 20-25, 21-25 scoreline was close enough to suggest Scotland could turn it around in Andorra.

Scotland's women's team failed to win a match in the three-day event and lost in straight sets to Luxembourg yesterday 16-25, 16-25, 14-25.