TENDRING Volleyball Club chairman Alex Porter expects his wounded players to come back fighting after suffering heartache in their Super 8s play-off.

The Frinton side lost 3-1 in their promotion showdown against London Malory, at the University of East London on Sunday afternoon.

Had they won, Tendring - the National League first division runners-up - would have swapped places with Malory and joined the cream of English volleyball in the Super 8s.

Instead, they lost out and were left to reflect on a missed opportunity.

However, player and club stalwart Porter says he and his players will take the defeat on the chin and come back stronger in the 2016/17 campaign.

"The guys were all very quiet and frustrated with themselves, for not grasping their opportunity with both hands," he said.

"But they say you learn from failure and that's what we spoke about after the game.

"As a team, we've achieved some amazing things this year and a number of people were very complimentary afterwards, saying how far we've come and how far we've progressed.

"We'll take it on the chin, go back to the drawing board and learn from our mistakes.

"Hopefully we'll come back better and stronger next season, using this experience to our advantage.

"We already have some new recruits lined up, which will make us even stronger and they'll bring a winning mentality.

"That's important because it was definitely a mental thing, on Sunday.

"We had lapses in concentration that allowed them to creep back into it, rather than us showing a killer instinct to finish them off.

"I wouldn't swap any of our players for the Malory ones.

"Technically and tactically I feel we're better and we're certainly more determined.

"However, they had that extra experience of playing at the top level - of knowing how to win matches when it really matters.

"That's what we have to learn."

Tendring had set their sights on a historic promotion and hoped to join their women's team, who already play Super 8s volleyball.

They also hoped to join the elite in what is a milestone year for the club - their 25th anniversary.

However, it was not to be in the end.

"It was a strange game and I've got no idea how it didn't go to five sets," added Porter.

"We were four points ahead in the first, only lost by two or three points in the second and then absolutely destroyed them in the third.

"In the fourth, we went from 7-1 down to 16-8 and 23-19 up - only to lose 25-23.

"It was so disappointing and frustrating, especially when you consider that the overall points score was 92-90.

"That shows how close it was."

Porter confirmed that one of the club's new signings for next season is setter Derek Sullivan.