Numbers strong for new season
It seems like only yesterday Volleyball Horsham members were celebrating a successful 2022, but the time has arrived to start another big year, with senior competitions underway tonight.
The A Grade competition has undergone some consolidation, with four new-look teams set to battle, with each team having at least eight players.
The A Reserve competition continues to grow, with an eight-team competition now in force, and a number of younger teams forming to put pressure on the older teams.
A five-team women’s competition will be the season starter tonight, with 15 new players recruited into each of the teams, with some late entries having to be moved in to C Grade due to the lack of court space available on a Wednesday night.
Phantoms and Heidelberg will square off against each other in the first A Grade game.
Jack Exell takes the reins at Phantoms and has assembled a strong lineup, with Will Saligari, Jake Myerscough and Shaun Bray welcoming the return of Laelah Robertson and new player to Volleyball Horsham, Belgian Nicolas Dalebroux.
Exell will need to be on song quickly to stop Nathan Berry’s Heidelberg team, which has Jordy Weidemann and Matt Mcloughlin as key players, ably supported by Emily Hannan and James Davidson.
The second game of the night sees reigning premiers Hellenic Nuggets, with Kara Johnson in the driver’s seat, doing battle against Rangers.
Johnson will look to the big-hitting Tom Roberts and the guile of Tyler Puls and Tory Chapple to score the bulk of their points, while the Rangers have put together a solid squad headed by Jack Hannan, Tyler Snowden and Tim Carter.
The A Reserve competition has four strong junior teams joining the older brigade, which will make for an even competition.
Hurricanes have recruited well and bought in the returning Ruben Ferguson to join a team, which placed runner-up last season.
Kiss My Ace is a new team made up of top-aged academy players, while the Murtoa Geckos come off a C Grade premiership. Holy Trinity Lutheran College Raiders have also strengthened their team and will be tough to beat.
Reigning premiers Waterhammers will be hoping to use their experience as an advantage, along with Heidelberg, Block Party and Von Steiger Shadows.
The women’s competition, while only having five teams, has five much stronger teams than last season.
The academy team will be the first to take the court tonight when they take on reigning premiers Rangers, who have put together a strong team headed by new recruits Eliza and Mackenzie Camilleri, as well as the returning Olivia Matthews.
The second game sees the Johnson sisters – Kara, Cheree and Rej – back together in an all-female Bingo Biddies team, up against Molly Carter’s Heidelberg.
Johnson has recruited strongly, bringing back Erin Dorward and Kymberley Murray, while Carter has done some recruiting of her own, with former Renegades state league player Anita Liu donning the black and white along with new player from St Arnaud, Scarlett Hand.
Everything points to a competitive but fun night of volleyball.
B Grade, C Grade and junior grades begin on Monday night with entries due tonight. There is still room for more players in any of the three grades of competition.
People can contact info@volleyball horsham.com.au for details.