London Docklands battled to a hard-fought win against east London rivals Lynx on Sunday to strengthen their hold on third place in the National League

London Docklands battled to a hard-fought win against east London rivals Lynx on Sunday to strengthen their hold on third place in the National League.

It was a special day for veteran Andy Vincett whose 209th outing in a Docklands shirt made him the leading appearance holder for the club.

Man of the match Matteo Cottignoli provided setter Danielle Di Bella with a stable platform on which to feed all his hitters and it was Sliti who sealed the first set with a sharp cross court smash to take the set 25-19.

Lynx are renowned for their never-say-die attitude and two Hassani kills along with four Docklands' errors saw the scores tied at 8-8 in the second, before Lynx won the set 26-24.

It was 21-21 in the third and Docklands saved four set points before losing 31-29.

Aces by Halatchev and Vincett emphasised Docklands dominance in the fourth set as they won 25-20.

In the fifth, with the score at 8-7 to Lynx, Sliti then took control of the match with a kill followed by an ace, taking Docklands back in front.

After his serve forced Lynx to give Docklands a free ball, Sliti put away a back court attack to open up a 10-8 lead. A clinical block by Blair on Ekanem gave Docklands two match points at 14-12.

Ekanem recovered well to save the first one but then Senatore hit the ball off the Lynx block into the aerial to seal a 15-13 fifth set win.