Bendigo success for volleyballers

Volleyball Horsham teams will look to an upcoming Ballarat tournament with confidence after a successful weekend in Bendigo.

Three Horsham teams participated in Bendigo’s annual Dragon City Tournament, with the men’s division-two team winning, the women’s division-two team coming runner-up and a men’s divisionthree team finishing third.

The men’s division-two team finished on top of its ladder with five wins and a dead-rubber loss and squared off against Bendigo Academy in the final.

The first two sets were tight, but the experience of the Horsham team shone through in the clutch stages of each set and the team took a 2-0 lead.

Overconfidence set in and the team dropped the third set before powering home to take the fourth to record a 3-1 victory.

The team performed well and played good team volleyball throughout the weekend.

To beat a young Bendigo Academy team full of talented players was a confidence boost, especially for a lot of the club’s younger players.

The women’s division-two team recorded four wins and a dead-rubber loss to make the final, also against Bendigo Academy.

The first three sets were again tight, with Bendigo taking the first 25-23. The Horsham girls fought back to take the second 28-26.

In the third, things were looking grim, with the team down 10-17, but the girls dug deep and came from behind to win 25-23.

The game was always going to go to the team that could break its opposition.

Unfortunately for the Horsham girls, it was the experienced Laura Roberts who turned the match on its head, with aggressive serving that left the Horsham girls rattled, and the fourth set went to Bendigo 25-14.

The key to winning a fifth set is to get off to a good start and the Bendigo girls did just that, in the end winning 15-8.

With two 14-year-olds, a 15-year-old and two 16-yearolds in the team, to take Bendigo Academy to five was a great result, considering at the Warrnambool tournament at the start of the year they were beaten in straight sets.

An under-16 boys team playing in division three finished second on the ladder, which pitted them against the experienced Bellarine men for a spot against Geelong in the final.

Unfortunately the boys couldn’t repeat their previous day’s effort when they won in three sets, losing 21-25, 17-25.

Teams will now continue preparations for an annual Ballarat tournament on November 18 and 19.