VOLLEYBALL - GIRLS SENIOR A
Back Row : Ian Johnson ( Coach ), Kiera Thompson , Aysha Vossen-Chong , Millie Hartridge , Julia McNamara ( Coach ) Front Row : Natalya Nicholson , Brooke McNamara , Isabella Turei ( Captain ), Zoe McNamara , Lucy Smith Absent : Evie Kennedy
For the second year in a row , Covid-19 has disrupted the volleyball season . This year we had 108 players spread across twelve teams , which is a decrease on the 2020 participation . Nevertheless , it was fantastic that we could still be involved and my thanks to the following who contributed to the programme : Julia McNamara , Ally Turei , Nicky Johnson , Mike Rabbitte , Va ’ as Uili-Va ’ asili , Daniel Cunningham , Amber Dann , Brooke McNamara and Kiera Thompson . Girls A : HBSS League : 2nd Place Division 1 In an attempt to improve the standard , Division 1 was moved to a Monday night and limited to only six teams . Each night teams would play two , best of five matches and do a duty . It did make for a long night , but the experience was definitely beneficial . After a double round robin , we had qualified in 2nd place and would play Hastings Girls in the final . Although we lost three nil , the set scores of 22-25 ; 21-25 and 26-28 showed how competitive the match was . HBPB Open : 2nd Place Due to the unavailability of PGA , the Open this year was hosted by Havelock North High School and Iona College . Teams were split into two sections and in our pool we comfortably beat both Iona and Taradale three nil . This guaranteed us a top four . We then played the top two teams from the other pool . This resulted in a narrow 3-2 win against Napier GHS and a 1-3 loss against Hastings GHS . This meant we finished a commendable 2nd place . Seeding Tournament : 1st Place For the first time ever , Gisborne hosted this event . Once again it was played as a round robin between Gisborne GHS ; Hastings GHS ; Napier GHS and Hastings CS . This was a very even competition with Havelock and Hastings Christian both finishing with three wins and one loss . The winner had to be found on points differential and Havelock North came first by the smallest of margins . This
89 result made the long trip home much more enjoyable . NZSS Nationals : 9th Place Division 2 As the only HBPB team in the top 32 , we had some pressure on us not to finish in the bottom three and , therefore , relegated for 2022 . This goal was achieved when we won our final three games against Riccarton , Whakatane and Otago Girls . The girls played great volleyball all week and had some very memorable games . Of particular note was the game against Burnside High School who ended up winning Division 1 . It was an absolute privilege to play them and to be extremely competitive for a good portion of the match . Girls B : HBSS League : 4th Place Division 2 As a result of not being able to attend Nationals , the girls were not allowed to play in Division 1 . This was a real pity as they would definitely have been competitive . However , they had a great season and played nicely structured volleyball . They easily qualified for semifinals but , unfortunately , lost to Napier B - a team they had beaten during the regular league games . Injuries to key players during the playoff games greatly impacted their performance . HBPB Open : 5th Place The girls played five games this tournament . They had narrow losses to Hastings GHS and Napier GHS . Their victories were against Napier GHS B ( twice ) and Iona College . It was great to have them participate and represent the school so well . Girls C : HBSS League : 1st Place Division 4 This team got off to a rather slow start , with poor player commitment and then new players being integrated into the team . However , by the third round they were well organised and working really well together . They narrowly won their semifinal against Napier GHS Social 4 and then backed this up with a comfortable two sets to nil win against Taradale HS .