Volleyball
22 October, 2024
Horsham head to Bendigo
Volleyball Horsham will send four teams to Bendigo this weekend to compete in the annual Dragon City tournament.
Bendigo Volleyball Association is celebrating their 60th anniversary and to commemorate this a special piece of Bendigo Pottery will be the reward for the winning teams, something that all teams over the years have enjoyed receiving.
The wave of excitement that Volleyball Horsham teams rode on during the Junior Country Championships will carry into this event, with many juniors making the trek alongside some of the association’s best senior players, bringing a whole new level of excitement.
The Volleyball Horsham contingent will be spearheaded by their silver medal winning country championships women’s team, who will be welcoming into big time volleyball under 17 junior country championships All Star Ilze Van Zyl, while the men will give fellow All Stars James Johns and Joel Brilliant a taste of playing with a senior team.
Two women’s teams round out the contingent with a team competing in each of division two and three.
Overall Bendigo has 55 teams competing this year, which is a healthy return for their tournament, and is indicative of the growth the sport has been experiencing in the post-Covid period and similar to other regional events in the past twelve months.
Veteran setter and fellow 2024 All Star Kara Johnson is excited to see how her team will perform as they set their sights on going one better than last year.
“Our open women’s team hasn’t sported three teenagers since 2018 when Cleo Baker, Laelah Robertson, Eadie Garth-Lindsay and Tamikah Dockrill came on the scene, so we’re excited for the next wave, but realistic at the same time, knowing that Paige (Hemley), Sophie (Quick) and Ilze are still learning their craft.”
“I think we are just as excited to see how the division two and three girls will go knowing they are young teams, full of talent, with many of them playing their first Bendigo tournament.”
The division two girls will be led by Tayla Eltze and she has the exciting Kayla Kelm as her go to player along with two very capable setters in Kylie Angue and Clare Whyte.
The division three girls are all under 15 and will be coached by Matt McLoughlin, who is also excited about his team’s prospects.
“The girls did so well at the junior country championships and have now had a taste of that higher level volleyball, so we want to keep the ball rolling.”
“For the majority of this group they have three more opportunities in front of them next month, with the SSV Year 8 state finals, Horsham tournament and the Volleyball Victoria Junior Open.”
“There is a good vibe around Volleyball Horsham at the moment and we want to give our players as much exposure as possible, just like their predecessors, so they can continue to enjoy the sport, and continue with their development.”
Games will be played at the Red Energy Arena in Bendigo commencing at 8am Saturday and Sunday with finals on Sunday afternoon.
FINALS BECKON
The race for the finals is on in earnest for the Winter Season, with semi finals starting on Monday night for juniors, B and C grades, A Reserve and A grade on Tuesday night and women’s A and B on Wednesday night.
Preliminary finals will be held Melbourne Cup week with seven grand finals to be decided in the week leading up to the Horsham tournament, which also coincides with This Girl Can week, running from November 11-15.