It has been a busy couple of weeks for the Senior A and Junior A volleyball teams.

Two weekends ago was the seeding tournament held in Dunedin in preparation for the Mainland tournament which was held last weekend (Friday to Sunday) in Christchurch. There were 42 girls teams entered from all over the South Island. The Senior A team were in Division 2 and Junior A in Division 3.

The Senior A had an awesome start on Friday beating both Marlborough Girls B and Riccarton Senior B 3-0. On Saturday the team had another three wins against Christchurch Girls Senior B (won 3-2), Rangiora Senior A (won 3-0) and Burnside Senior B (3-1) which meant they finished top of their pool and went straight into the semi-finals on Sunday morning.

Saturday night COVID levels changed to Level 2 and the team lost their supporters as no spectators were allowed. It was an early start on Sunday and the girls were all very excited and eager to play the semi-final against Cashmere Senior B. The sets were all very close but Columba came out the winners 3-1 to proceed to the final in the afternoon. The final was against Riccarton Senior A who hadn’t lost a set all tournament. Unfortunately, they were too strong for Columba and we lost 3-0 and finished 2nd in Division 2 for the tournament.

This tournament was a great experience for the Senior A both on the court and off it. It was a good opportunity to bond as a team and get to know the new players. For coach Will White it was an opportunity to experiment with positions and plays in preparation for the Otago Champs this weekend and the National tournament in Palmerston North in just over two weeks. We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed that COVID stays away and the team get to go to Nationals this year.

Thank you to Senior A coach Will White and manager Dawn Hope for looking after the team while away – the team truly appreciate all the time and energy you put into the Senior A.

The Junior A team also had a great Mainland’s tournament. On the first day they won games against Nelson Girls and Southland Girls to finish 2nd in their pool to go through to the top 8 playoffs on Saturday. Some tough games against Central Southland (lost 3-2), Mt Aspiring (lost 3-0) and Wakatipu (3-0). On Sunday the girls had two games in the 5th and 7th playoffs. They beat Craighead 3-1 to play off against Central Southland for 5th place. Unfortunately they lost 3-0 and ended the tournament in 6th place in Division 3 – a great result given there are 18 teams in Division 3. It was an outstanding effort from our juniors and an awesome experience for them. They will be in fine form come the end of the year when they go to the South Island champs.

Thank you to Brett Dailey for coaching the Junior A team and to Angela Spek for looking after the girls.