WESSEX TeamBath lifted the English National League Division One crown after victories over Leeds and title rivals City of Wolverhampton.
TeamBath beat Leeds with a 3-1 win at Bath University's Sports Village before a nail-biting away fixture in Wolverhampton. Again Wessex were victorious but only by the narrowest of margins - 3-2.
The match against Leeds was played at a very fast pace. The hosts ran into an early lead but were soon pegged back.
A time out from Wessex enabled them to regroup and go on to take the opening set 25-22.
Set two started with Leeds in the ascendancy and Wessex did well to stay with the visitors. But despite the best efforts of Phoebe Jeffery, Leeds hung to level the match with a 26-24 set victory.
In the third, Wessex made an explosive resumption. Leeds did manage to stop the continual flow of points, but the damage had been done. With such a large deficit there was no realistic way back and Wessex TeamBath re-established their lead with a 25-20 win.
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Lizzie Smith started to score well in set four and some accurate setting from Janna Rogers enabled Wessex to establish another big lead. Leeds looked demoralised and Wessex went on to take the set 25-18 and the match.
Wessex TeamBath: Brown, Creasy, Jeffery, S Lewis, J Rogers, Smith.
The clash at Wolverhampton was pivotal to the season, as the two teams knew that the winner would almost certainly be crowned champions.
Wessex made changes to the line-up in a bid to keep players fresh. But the visitors went down in the first set 25-22 despite some excellent defence from Henri Creasy and aggressive hitting by Helen Brown.
TeamBath hit back to level proceedings by taking the next set 25-20 thanks to good work from Julie Smith and Natasha Lewis.
Their momentum continued into the third, where Mo Glover used all her experience. The former Olympian subtly tipped her way round the Wolves block to flat foot their defence. Wessex kept their composure to record another 25-20 success.
Wolves were not a spent force though and fought back in the fourth to level at two sets each and take the match into a nail biting deciding fifth set.
Wessex managed to change ends with a slender 8-6 lead, and after the resumption, both teams matched point for point until Wolves recorded two successive wing attacks to level at 13-13.
Glover then made the play of the match with another subtle tip, handing Wessex match point. A strong serve forced Wolves into an error and Wessex took the set, the game and the English title with a 15-13 win.
Wessex: Brown, Creasy, Glover, S Lewis, N Lewis, Rogers, Smith.
After becoming English champions, Wessex are now considering whether to exercise their option to compete in next season's European Cup competition.
If taken up this would almost certainly see their withdrawal from the National League.
* Wessex TeamBath play their final match of the season today when they entertain Swiss Cottage at Carter College in Poole (3pm).
Wessex (from): Creasy, Eddie, Gless, Jeffery, Orfanidou, Rogers, L Smith.
Following that Wessex's next outing in Weymouth will be in the sixth Wey-mouth Invitational Tournament at Redlands on June 7-8.
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