Volleyball
15 October, 2024
Bronze for Berry
A second bronze medal in two years has left a sense of unfinished business for the Melbourne Vipers men’s team in the Mahindra Australian Volleyball Superleague.
A five set victory over Adelaide Storm was bittersweet for the team that saw a two sets to love lead over Perth in the gold medal qualifier on Saturday, evaporate in front of their very eyes, and to bounce back to win the bronze showed great character by the team.
In one of the sets of the tournament the Vipers won the bronze medal in a set that saw firstly Adelaide hold four match points, only to see all four disappear in some Vipers brilliance, and then the Vipers had four match points, with young Monash star James Kay able to seal the deal with a power hit, winning 27-25.
Captain Paul Sanderson said after the match that the team learnt plenty from their qualifier loss against Perth.
“The team took control in that fifth set and it was player driven that we weren’t going to let this opportunity slip, like what happened on Saturday.”
“When the players take control and ownership of their own destiny positive things can happen.”
The win was one for a coaching group that knew they had the players to figure deep in this competition but the format, being volleyball played at what appeared like lightning speed, didn’t allow you to sit back and think too long about the moves you were going to make.
In his role as assistant coach former Volleyball Horsham member Matthew Berry said the team was well led by their younger players.
“We knew what we were going to get with our senior players like Sanderson, Kanwar and setter Damien Whitburn, but to coach Josh Cowan’s credit, he went with his gut and started Hunter Hopkins in the key setting role in the bronze medal match and it paid off in spades, with the youngster displaying great skills.”
“Then throw in Noah Van Gemst who came on for Dylan Lucchesi early in the first set and held his own, and James Kay who replaced Darcy Taig and won the game for us, it was a bronze medal win for the youngsters.”
Berry said the Superleague, now in its second year, saw a marked improvement in the quality of play by both the men and the women, with clubs putting the emphasis on the format that a national competition should have.
“When you get the likes of current and former Volleyroos like Harrison Peacock, Nathan Roberts, Thomas Heptinstall, Ben Bell, Caitlin Tipping, Karley Hines, Caitlin Waterfall, Tessa Browne and Beth Carey who all lift the standard, you get games that go to a much higher level, and that is what we experienced especially in the finals.”
The key to taking that next step for the men’s team is keeping the majority of the group together something Berry believes won’t be too difficult.
“I think over the past two years we have learnt so much about this format and how best touse it to your greatest advantage, and this will help us put together a strong group that will be able to figure prominently next year.”
“We won’t need to make too many changes except in the setting department, but I think there is enough drive and desire by the senior members of the group to get everyone involved again to give us the best shot at claiming that elusive bit of silverware we all crave.”
Berry will now set his sights on the Bendigo and Horsham tournaments over the course of the next month as well as taking his Mazenod honors teams to the Gold Coast to tackle the National Schools Cup.