The senior A team celebrates placing second in their division. by Dayna Whiting

Volleyballers' jubilant return after Hawaiian tournament success

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The two Nayland girls teams’ long-awaited trip to Honolulu for the Aloha Summer Classic volleyball tournament took place the week before last. The tournament attracted 100 youth teams from Hawai’i, mainland USA, and Canada.

The 19 volleyballers, along with their coach, manager and parent supporters, made the biggest journey of the tournament and coach Brendan Crichton said they were treated as “the star attraction” as the only Australasian team there. 

“The amount of people that came up to us (...), I was astounded. They were just amazed we’d travelled that far,” he said.

New Zealand’s Polynesian connection with Hawai’i also contributed to this special treatment, with the teams singing waiata at the opening ceremony. 

The connection was a personal one for player Ana Piukala. Members of the Hawaiian side of her family met the teams on arrival at Honolulu airport and welcomed them with bead necklaces, in lieu of short-lasting flower lei.

Both teams - the girls A and the girls development team - competed extremely well in the full-on, action-packed tournament that challenged the players with the very different styles of play. 

Contrary to Brendan Crichton’s worries that they’d “get destroyed”, both teams held their ground extremely well, with some impressive successes. These included:

  • The A team made the final in their under 18 division and placed second. In the final they competed against a Navajo Indian team from Arizona, the Tuba City Starlings. Nayland lost the first set, won the second but closely lost the third, 15-11.

  • The Nayland development team, made up of our younger players, made it to the semi-final and placed fourth in their division, a fantastic achievement. As director of sport Dayna Whiting put it, “the development side truly did develop.”

  • Four of our girls (two from each team) were named in the tournament team, chosen as the top six players of each grade. These were Sophie Young and Greta Stjade in the 18 and under grade and Brooklyn Crichton and Hannah Young in the 16 and under grade.

  • Ana Piukala was given the Spirit of the Tournament award for having a positive attitude within the games, showing sportsmanship to other teams, and keeping up her team’s morale.

  • Greta Stjade was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Amidst the full tournament schedule, the girls also had time to enjoy the palm trees and the beach in the low 30 degree heat. Player Georgia Nicholls said a highlight was seeing a turtle close by in the water on their first visit to the beach. “We all wanted to see a turtle and there one was on the first day,” she said.

For Georgia and the other senior A players, the final was one of the last games they’ll play as a team. For some, this means the end of five or six years of playing together. “It was a great way to finish their career at Nayland,” Dayna Whiting said.

The fundraising for this trip took place over more than a year and was a huge team effort. Support from businesses in the community was invaluable and there were many who contributed. Special thanks goes to major sponsors Peter Baker Transport, Lone Star Nelson, Chemdry, Carter's Tyres and Speights Ale House.