We are watching the GB men’s volleyball team turn into something special. With table-turning wins over two of Europe’s top teams in successive weeks, the signs are there of growing strength and self belief in our young squad. We made history. Last weekend we defeated Spain, the 2009 European League runners-up. The weekend before that we scored a famous victory over Slovakia, the 2008 European League winners.

All from a standing start in 2006 with no tradition, no infrastructure, no players, no coaches, only ambition and the Holy Grail of the 2012 Olympics. I might be accused of bias, but no Olympic sport has moved so quickly from nowhere to serious competitiveness, gaining plaudits across Europe, than we have.

There is further to go, as acknowledged by our Dutch coach, Harry Brokking, but the three set defeat of Spain (25-22 26-24 25-22) in Salamanca last weekend in the CEV European League, avenging a loss the previous day, was a demonstration of this squad’s powerful resilience.

As the Spanish Samba band were whipping up the crowd into a Latin frenzy aided and abetted by El Toro, the Spanish Mascot, it was obvious the home crowd were demanding a second straight victory over the British underdogs. But despite the Spaniards racing to a three point lead with lightning fast services followed by huge blocks, GB scrapped for every point.

Empowered by the total support from their subs corner, the visitors were responding magnificently to the incessant beat of the Spanish percussionist. That’s when I found myself thinking: Does anyone know a Samba band from the Crawley area? If yes, please contact me immediately and prepare to bring your drums to the K2 Crawley Arena next Saturday, June 19, home Euro league match-ups when Romania and Bulgaria will be the visitors, men’s match at 3.00pm and women’s at 6.00pm

That is the way it works in British volleyball. All hands to the pump. Everything we can do to make this deserving team more successful, we are pledged to do, alongside the funding we receive from UK Sport. We were rewarded last weekend with the sight of opposite, and Sheffield dental student, Dami Bakare, leaping higher than seemed physically possible, hovering in the air and completing monstrous stuff blocks which must have looked like a total eclipse to the attacking Spaniards.

It was a glimpse of his huge potential leading up to London 2012. The Spanish women’s team coach was sitting near me while we watched the match. When he saw how high Dami could jump he just laughed and gasped. It was probably the best response.

Super quick Rio-born Mark "Samba" Plotyczer was sensational, working overtime in passing and attack. The higher-ranked Spanish had no answer to him and could not quite manoeuver their big guns  into attacking positions to inflict real damage to the GB defences. The marauding British took the second set 26-24 , and nostrils were twitching as they scented a famous victory.

Surely the Spaniards could not be so soundly beaten in their own back yard? With the game on live TV and being beamed across Europe, it came down to the moment when Mark McGivern, hanging around in the middle, managed to get the third fingernail of his left hand to thwart a last ditch tip attack from the Spanish to finish the match and secure the 3-0 victory.

What a difference a year makes. There was a time when the team was so young and raw that they would lose matches by huge margins. But the professionalism and attention to detail of Brokking and assistant coach, Joel Banks, has transformed the fortunes of the team.

As Brokking said post-game: "I am very happy with the result and, of course, it keeps us in the race for the Final Four. There was a lot of tension in the players after the loss yesterday, so it was a good win, with better serving and blocking than the day before." The team learns quickly. It has to.

Julio Velasco, the renowned coach of the Spanish team lamented that injuries that forced him to play a young side. What he didn’t know was that our GB team was even younger. 

GB Captain Ben Pipes said: "I’m obviously delighted, it was a big turnaround from a 3-1 loss yesterday to a 3-0 win . it was like déjà vu from last weekend when we beat Slovakia 3-0 on the Sunday match at EIS Sheffield.

"We are massively looking forward to the matches next weekend in Crawley when I’m hoping our crowd are as loud as the Spanish were today. It is important that the two matches in Crawley against Romania have become must-win matches, and it is entirely within our own hands to qualify for the final four in Guadalajara in July."

So, to repeat my plea, can someone find us a Crawley Samba band before next Saturday?

Kenny Barton, a former captain of Scotland, is the Performance Programme Manager of British Volleyball, overseeing all aspects of the delivery of the programme from budgetary control to decisions on tournament entries in the build-up to the London 2012 Olympics. Tickets for match, priced £8 for adults, and £4 concessions, are available on the door.    

British Volleyball is represented by davidwelchmanagement.com