The OSS Junior Volleyball tournament was held at the Edgar Centre recently, with 12 teams from across the Otago region competing in the Junior Girls Division. Columba College entered into the competition, and the team performed with great skill and sportsmanship.

Hoping to defend their title from 2021, Columba fielded a Junior team at this year's 2022 Otago Secondary Schools Junior Volleyball Championships, held at the Edgar Centre over the weekend of the 12th-13th November. With all players being in Year 9, it was the first time at the event for everyone on the team, so the tournament was a big step up for a rapidly developing team full of natural talent.

The Columba team started the weekend with a loss to the eventual tournament champions, Bayfield High School. This loss did not deter them, however, as Columba went on to score a convincing 2-0 win over Mount Aspiring Black. The third game of the day put them up against an experienced Kavanagh Junior A team and they won 2-0! For the final game of the day, Columba played St. Kevin's College from Oamaru. The girls lost the first set with some fatigue setting in after a long day of games and duty. However, they fought back and won the second set convincingly, which set up a third-set decider. The score was close but Columba was not able to get the win, and as such were effectively knocked out of the top 4 and had to set their sights on 5th. 

Sunday began with an early morning game against Queens 10A which Columba was able to win 2-0. This win secured them 3rd place in their pool and a crossover game against Mount Aspiring Gold which they then won 2-0! This secured Columba a spot in the 5th-6th final against Kavanagh Junior A, which Columba won 2-1. 

A big congratulations goes to Delilah Brown who was named in the tournament team at the completion of the weekend - amazing mahi, Delilah! Columba College is extremely proud of you and this impressive achievement.

Well done, Columba! We can't wait to see what you can accomplish next year at the South Island tournament. Thanks to Jen Kara and Carla Hewson for managing the team, and our fabulous student coaches Lucy Morrison and Ryan Dailey who competed in Volleyball Otago's 2-star beach volleyball tournament recently, finishing third overall in the open women's grade. Columba College is extremely fortunate to have such a dedicated and supportive community helping to develop our volleyball programme.