University of Melbourne proves too good for Monash at Big Blue Home Leg

On 29 April, the University of Melbourne welcomed Monash University to its annual Big Blue Home Leg event. The rival Universities competed in Mixed Netball, Women's Hockey, and both Men's and Women's Volleyball, and Squash.

The Nona Lee Sports Centre was lively, the upstairs stand was packed to the rafters as fans from both Universities cheered on the Volleyball Competition.

In the Men's match, Melbourne won both sets comfortably. The Women's match proved more challenging. After the home team won the first set, Monash bounced back to win the second, before a strong third set saw Melbourne take another win. Both matches featured some exhilarating play, and it's safe to say that if these teams meet again at UniSport Nationals, it will be a very competitive matchup.

Next door at the West stadium, Mixed Netball was keeping things interesting.

After being down for most of the game, Melbourne made a strong comeback. Falling just short of Monash, they had their opportunities but lost to the better team. Regardless, it was a solid performance for a team that had never played together before and was giving away height in the circle.

Downstairs, the squash courts were action-packed, and fans squeezed together to see it all play out.

The University of Melbourne had eight players in total, split across a Men's and Women's team. The Women only dropped one match, whereas the Men drew overall. On the points count-back system, Melbourne were crowned winners.

Outside, with the sunset setting behind them, the Women's hockey team were feeling confident after last year's dominant performance.

After a slow first half, Melbourne was able to get on top and win their game. The contest was tighter than the scoreline suggests, but the highlight was Emily Rednall scoring a goal off a short corner in almost cricket-like fashion, driving a bouncing ball into the net. For a relatively new team that has never trained together, they showed promising signs!

The University of Melbourne were primarily the winner at this year's Home Leg, but the overall winner can't be announced until after the Away Leg, which Monash will host on May 13.