Dragon City wins on radar
Volleyball Horsham will send a strong contingent of players to the annual Dragon City tournament in Bendigo at the weekend.
A men’s division two team, under the leadership of Tim Popple, will be looking to claim back-to-back Bendigo pottery trophies and heads the contingent.
Five players will be returning from last year’s winning team – Popple, Shaun Bray, Jordy Weidemann, Scott Davidson and Jack Hannan.
High-leaping middle blocker Tyler Snowden, who has been in good form on the domestic front this year, will join them.
Three youngsters will get their chance in open competition – Will Saligari, John Kearns and Lloyd Baker.
Kearns will take control of the team’s setting duties and Saligari will look to continue his improvement in the role of passer hitter, while Baker will be playing in open competition for the first time.
The team will face stiff opposition from Bendigo Dragons, Sunraysia, two Bellarine teams and Crusoe College Bendigo.
Murtoa College will send its intermediate girls team to contest division three as it prepares for the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup in December.
With experienced state players Cleo Baker and Laelah Robertson in the team, coach Shaun Bray will be looking to make the final.
The association’s elite players will be sprinkled through four Phantoms teams and play in the top honors division.
On the men’s side there is Matthew Berry and Nick Adamson in one team while Nathan Berry, Chris Radford, Cam Robinson and Aidan O’connor will suit up in the other team.
Kara Johnson will control the setting for the Phantoms Purple team in the honors women’s division, while Tamikah Dockrill, Delaney Wills and Eadie Garth-lindsay will suit up in the Phantoms Black team.
The two teams will be favoured to make the final against each other.
The Bendigo tournament is the second event on the tournament calendar, with Ballarat on November 17 and 18 followed by an annual Horsham tournament on November 24 and 25.
The tournament season finishes with the national schools cup in December.