GB men clinch historic away wins

Pipes won his 50th British cap in GB's second win over Croatia

Great Britain's men have made history by clinching their first away wins in the European Volleyball League, beating Croatia twice in Group A.

The first match saw GB triumph 3-0 and they followed that by winning 3-2 in a five-set thriller, which also marked a 50th British cap for skipper Ben Pipes.

Next up for GB are two matches against European champions Spain at Ponds Forge in Sheffield this weekend.

Britain will look to avenge two narrow defeats they suffered in Spain in June.

Pipes feels the wins over Croatia have given his squad confidence that they can compete at the highest level as they continue their journey towards the London 2012 Olympics.

I hope we can put on a good show for the home crowd in Sheffield as we prove just how far we've come Ben Pipes on this weekend's games with Spain

He wants two more similar performances in the games against Spain, which start at 1500 BST on 11 and 12 July, to underline the progress the British team has made.

Pipes said: "Every day for the past three years, since the GB volleyball programme reformed, we have pushed our bodies to the limit and trained like mad men just to get close to competing with the world's top sides.

"Victories like those away to Croatia are the reward.

"But we know if we are to compete at London 2012, which is the goal, there will be bigger tests to come.

"That includes matches against champions like Spain and I hope we can put on a good show for the home crowd in Sheffield as we prove just how far we've come."

The British team was only formed in 2006 when London won the right to host the games, having previously competed under the individual home nations' flags.