Junior stars take the court here in Dunedin last weekend for the Otago Secondary School Volleyball Championships.

It was a weekend full of bumping, setters and spikes as 17 Columba Year 9 and 10 students made their mark at Volleyball.

Columba Junior A had a tough pool resulting in a three-way tie of schools who all beat each other. Columba went through to the Top 8 after a strong points countback landed in their favour. The games on day two were extremely hard fought and the improvement seen over the course of the weekend leaves them in a good position heading into the SISS event in a couple of weeks. Congratulations on the commitment, effort and skillset shown gaining 8th place in our region.

The Junior B Team played the tournament favourites and eventual winners first up and presented with a no-fear attitude to score some quality points and remain in high spirits, fully engaged for the duration of the match. All games were close and a few classy opposition teams meant this group had a very unlucky draw. What was really special for this group was the sheer enjoyment and camaraderie celebrating each point with a cheer, huddle and plenty of smiles! Well done for the development you have achieved this term alone.

A shout out to our coaches - Lucy and Carla with the Junior A Team as well as Miss Turnbull and Dom who filled in for the Junior B Team while their coaches were unavailable. Also, a big thank you goes to Mr Sparrow, our wonderful TiC for his continuous support who not only gave up his weekend but also his free time during the weeknights throughout the summer terms. We are incredibly grateful for all you give to Volleyball at Columba.