Quin and Max… next up? AAA!
They have been getting closer with every tournament; finally Round 5 brought Max and Quin a first AA win, along with it an opportunity to dip their feet in AAA in a future round. An opening pool loss to fellow VBVA crew member Gui – playing with Warrior Danny – was not the best start, but it was followed by wins over Susskind/Berhman and eventual grand final opponents Gomez/Merker.
A better set differential gave them top spot in the pool. It didn’t make the knockout rounds any easier, scraping through with a tough Quarter Final win against Gierlach/Bush (18-12, 8-18, 15-10). A close Semi battle against Beer/Jones was won 2-0 (18-16,21-19), which secured a first division final. A second meeting with Gomez/Merker in the tournament brought with it a similar result, cruising to a 2-0 (18-10,18-11) win, and a first AA win! Congrats from the whole crew..
Team Gelt roll through B Division
Not long before Max and Quin were standing atop the winners’ dias, 11yo Seb, playing with Dad Eric, won the Open B division. Team Gelt may have lost a pool game in three on their way to top spot, but they rolled through their remaining games, winning the division in style.
And…
In AAA men’s the brothers’ Kay, playing their last Vic Tour event before heading to Canberra to join the AVA (Australian Volleyball Academy), made the quarters, before falling in three sets to Sabatino/Meyn. Not a bad result given both were just returning from a nasty week of Covid. Their younger brother James also stepped up into the top division, holding his own in a pool with the two finalists and fellow VBVA member Klaas.
Back in AA Men, where Max and Quin prevailed, we saw Sammy playing with the guys, and racking up a semi-final appearance. A huge result, but we expect she’ll be back playing with the AAA women in round 6.
In AA Women, sisters Mia and Emily both made semi’s with their partners. Emily and Rebekah lost in three tight sets to eventual winners Jackson/Meyer, Mia and Amber losing in two to number 1 seeds Cheng/Moehl. Elodie, Sutina, Kayla and Emma, all made quarters, losing to Emily and Mia in their respective matches.
In A Women, VBVA pairs Isadora and Marija, and Rosie and Ella both made it through their pools. Isadora and Marija lost their Quarter final against finalists Kounadis/Kounadis; Rosie and Ella made it to the semi’s before going down to eventual winners Wendt/Iannucci.
Congrats to all.
