Only weeks after the 2020 Australian Junior Beach Champs, Victoria stepped into a lockdown which lasted the best part of six months. As the rest of Australia were out training, on the sand, getting reps and time with partners… our players were Zooming training sessions in our rooms, and trying to locate friends within our 5km bubbles.
We were on the back foot. Trials, usually held in October, were pushed back to the final week of January. Partnerships were only settled a month prior to the event. Two, maybe three tournaments for those pairs to prepare. Not an ideal situation.
21 of the 39 kids selected to represent Victoria in Coolangatta in late April, train with the VBVA.
Below is a summary of their results… and this is a link to the Volleyball Australia tournament results: http://www.volleyballaustralia.org.au/page/beach-junior-events
SAM AND WILL WIN U18 BOYS GOLD!
What a crazy run! Sam and Will finished second in a pool that took all three podium places. They lost in straight sets to their eventual grand final opponents; missing the opportunity for a bye. A game-plan perfectly managed saw the twins’ semi-final against the best in the alternate pool, finish in two. That win put the boys back up against Bergh/McEvoy from Queensland; the only opponents who beat them in the pool rounds.
Just like the semi-finals, the boys stuck to a game-plan and… after an average start, losing the first set, they brought it back, winning 17-15 in the third set. With almost every player, coach and official looking on, the boys held out to beat opponents who had previously won every previous age bracket.
Lindsay and Mitch were unfortunately stuck in the same pool as the three medal teams, but managed two wins to end the pool rounds in fifth position. A cross-over against Quin and Max, saw them play for 11th.
Quin and Max, didn’t have the best results in their pool, finishing 6th, but turned that around when it mattered, beating Lindsay and Mitch and then prevailing in their final game against NSW, to pick up a 9th place.
In the U18 girls, a final pool B game decided if Evie and Talia would take first in their pool, and grab a bye… or would have to play extra games to advance. Although not playing well, the girls managed several match points against eventual Silver medalists Farrow/Milne from QLD.
That second in pool, coupled with a string of games that saw the girls being awfully generous in offering early points to opponents, left Evie and Talia with a 6th place finish.
In pool A, Kalsie and Elodie had fantastic moments in games against the Gold medal team from NSW and eventual 4th place finishers QLD. But, struggled to win games against opposition they were expected to beat. An unfortunate injury and subsequent concussion to Kalsie during a play-off game brought an end to their tournament.
Steph and Amber struggled to get on track during their pool C games, but pulled out some far stronger finishes in cross-overs… almost taking out Kalsie and Elodie, before ending their tournament on a winning high.
LOTS OF FIFTHS AND SOME MORE MEDALS
Across the rest of the tournament, recent VBVA training crew members Ella and Siena finished with SILVER in the U17 girls. Lulu, playing with her partner for the event Eliza, finished in 10th. Callan in U17s, ended up in 11th position.
In the U16 boys, James and Luca strolled through their pool, but lost a crucial quarter final game 16-18 in the third… giving up match points on the way, to the QLD silver medalists. A 6th place finish.
In the U15 boys, Sammy and Zavier, along with three’s partner Ryan blew every opponent they faced off the court… until they hit NSW, who happened to take out the GOLD medal. A close quarter loss, saw the boys finish the tournament with a fifth.
Also ending their tournament in 5th were the U15 girls, with VBVA crew members Shalomi and Leah, and their teammates Hillary and Jemima. Just like the boys, the girls started in devastating fashion, before succumbing to QLD in their last pool game. Second in their pool, and a crossover loss to another QLD team, left the girls with a play-off game for 5th… which they won.
Congratulations to all who competed. To those who didn’t get the results they were hoping for… or any who didn’t make the squad/pulled out, next year we’ll blitz it!
