Volleyball
3 December, 2024
Horsham teams medal at state event
Hot on the heels of a gold medal-winning performance by the senior women at the Horsham Tournament, Volleyball Horsham’s open and under-16 teams have returned from the Volleyball Victoria Junior Open with hard-earned medals.
The open girls team competing in division one at the senior event won a bronze, defeating McKinnon College in straight sets while the under-16 girls won a silver medal in the junior event going down to Methodist Ladies College in the deciding set.
Volleyball Victoria established this event in 2019, offering an alternative tournament for teams that didn’t want to participate in the National Schools Cup when it moved to the Gold Coast, opening entries to associations, clubs and academies.
Over 160 teams participated this year in divisions one and two from year 7 to year 12 with the tournament split into senior and junior. The senior event was held at the State Volleyball Centre with the junior event at MSAC.
Volleyball Horsham started the senior tournament in the best possible way with the open girls beating The Grange and Kew on day one, while the open boys had an amazing win over Surf Coast Sharks, coming from 4-15 down in the first set to record a three-set win.
Assistant coach Casey Quick said day two was a different story for the girls, who lost all three games to Dandenong, McKinnon and Maribyrnong.
“It wasn’t all that bad for the girls who were right in every set they played against all three opponents but couldn’t quite maintain their consistency over the three sets in each game," Quick said.
“So, it wasn’t as if they were playing badly, which gave them something to hang their hats on for any possible rematches.”
A win over Nunawading was all that was needed on day three to grab fourth spot and a shot at gold, which the team was able to achieve, even on a court that was deemed too unsafe to play on following overnight rain, setting up a gold medal qualifier against Dandenong.
Their opponents were just too good for the girls, relegating them to the bronze medal match and a rematch against McKinnon College.
In a powerful display, the girls won the first set 25-11 on the back of aggressive serving and smart play as their shell-shocked opponents continued to error.
Quick said the start of the second set was completely the opposite with McKinnon jumping the girls and opening a 9-2 lead.
“To the girl's credit, they didn’t panic and could claw their way back into the set. At 19-19, up stepped Lucinda Ferguson, who blocked their power hitter, and you could see the girls lift from Lucinda’s effort, and they were able to hold their nerve, eventually winning 26-24 and taking a well-earned bronze," Quick said.
The bronze complemented the team’s silver from last year’s event and with the majority of the team eligible to play in 2025, that elusive gold is still a possibility before this team goes their separate ways.
The attention then turned to the under-16 girls who were playing in their first Junior Open and they were given a warm welcome by Methodist Ladies College in their first game going down in straight sets.
Coach Matt McLoughlin said the team then recorded strong wins over Eltham (2-1) and Upwey (3-0) to end day one, which gave the girls much-needed confidence going into day two.
“That’s what we thought, but they couldn’t get warm against Kew and were blown off the court, in a performance that left the coaching group scratching their heads, wondering what just happened," he said.
With the team sitting at two wins and two losses with two games remaining, a win was needed over Monbulk to keep in touch with the second spot on the ladder, as MLC were well clear on top.
McLoughlin said after dropping the first set to Monbulk 23-25, things weren’t looking all that flash.
“To the girl's credit, they dug deep and won the second set 25-22 on the back of great work initially from Bonnie Grieger and then from 22-22 Serena Johns, who were both strong on serve,” he said.
Another close contest in the third set saw the girls come out on top, giving them a chance at that coveted second spot, but there was still work to do with a final game against Maribyrnong the next morning.
After losing the first set 24-26 in controversial circumstances, which required the intervention of a senior referee supervisor, the girls took the second set 25-23 to tie the match at one set each and 49 points each.
The third went point for point, but the girls got to 13-11 before time was called, and a memorable win resulted.
Now they had to sit back and wait for the final game between Monbulk and Kew, with a win to Kew possibly relegating the girls to third, while a win for Monbulk would keep the girls in the second spot.
Monbulk won the game amidst scenes of happiness from the Horsham team, and now they set themselves for a rematch with MLC in the gold medal match.
McLoughlin said while the first set went the way of MLC, wiping the floor with the girls 25-8, this didn’t phase the team.
“We had been in this position before against South Gippsland at the junior country champs, and that was a worse scoreline, so the girls knew it wasn’t all doom and gloom,” he said.
“Up stepped Ilze Van Zyl, and for the first time all tournament,t Ilze found her groove on serve and before you knew it, the girls had opened a lead of 13-3 on their opponents.
“Then, when Hannah Gabbe and Ilze blocked out their best hitter, you could see the whole team lift, and the girls took the second set 25-2,0, pushing the game into a deciding set.”
The team carried that momentum into the third set's first half, opening an 8-4 lead when the teams’ changed ends.
“Unfortunately, with the change of ends came a change of fortunes and the MLC girls found their groove on serve, and before we knew it, they were in front and no matter what we tried, we couldn’t arrest their momentum and lost the third set 9-15," McLoughlin added.
McLoughlin said to take a silver medal at this event in division one is no mean feat, and the coaching group was proud of the girl’s efforts throughout the three days.
“The girls showed they can compete with some of the strongest volleyball programs in the state, with schools like Monbulk, Kew, McKinnon, Eltham, and Upwey all having the depth in their participation to send multiple teams in every age group to this event and the Gold Coast event," he said.
“In the case of Upwey and Kew, they will be heading to New Zealand next March as part of their volleyball programs to give their players exposure at a higher level.
“To finish the year so strongly all points to an exciting future for our current and any potential players who would like to give the sport a try as they get opportunities that other sports can’t offer.”
