From the 19th to 22nd of November 2024, the HGHS volleyball Junior Premier team competed in the New Zealand Junior Schools Volleyball Championships at the Pulman Arena in Auckland.

It was a week of tremendous growth for the girls. They came into the tournament with high hopes, eager to showcase their skills and prove their hard work during practice. The competition was fierce, with teams from neighboring schools bringing strong players. The girls fought hard in every match, but the results didn’t always go in their favour. Yet, rather than feeling discouraged, the team took each game as an opportunity to learn and grow.

The first few matches were challenging. By the third match, against Hillcrest High School, the team began to gel more cohesively. There were flashes of brilliance, such as perfectly timed spikes and solid serves, and the players started to communicate better, calling for the ball and supporting each other when mistakes occurred.

The matches on Wednesday were a breakthrough. We were able to take two of the three games to three sets, and won our last game. The girls worked as a unit, encouraging each other, covering each other’s weaknesses, capitalising on their strengths. The energy on the court was palpable, and the sense of achievement at the end of the game was overwhelming. This meant that we moved into the top of Division Two moving into Thursday.

Our games didn’t go as we hoped, however, we had a fantastic final game, giving some of our newer players a run on the court.

The tournament was a valuable experience, one that showed the girls the importance of resilience and learning from setbacks. While they may not have come home with the trophy, they left the tournament as better athletes and a stronger team. They are now more motivated than ever to keep pushing themselves, practising, and improving for future competitions.