Volleyball commitment strong
The Matamata College senior girls volleyball A team won the Waikato Secondary Schools’ Championships with a series of convincing performances.
The squad went through the competition unbeaten, losing only one set in the process.
On finals day, they comfortably won their semifinal against Hillcrest High School 3-0 then overcame Te Aroha College by the same margin in the final.
The highlight of the Waikato competition was the strong all-round performance of team captain Kristen Goodwin.
The girls B team also performed well each week coming fifth in the competition of 17 teams.
The senior boys squad came in the competition which featured some tough games against Hamilton Boys’ High School, Hillcrest and Te Aroha.
Both Matamata College girls teams have just returned from the annual Secondary Schools National Championships in Palmerston North.
The A team had a slow start to the week and lost both matches on the opening day.
This effectively knocked them out of the running to play in Division 1 but they bounced back with a series of excellent efforts throughout the remainder of the week.
Their highlights included a fine win against Waimea College from Nelson and a hard-fought win in straight sets against Middleton Grange from Christchurch.
The team also produced some spectacular volleyball in their 1-3 loss to Otago Girls’ High School which finished just before 11pm.
The girls ended up playing in division 2 where they came 11th for a national ranking of 27th.
Last year’s New Zealand Under 19 player Anilise Fitzi led the spiking and blocking statistics and had an excellent tournament.
Kristen Goodwin again drove the team around the court most impressively, while Nicole Settle produced some strong attacking play and passed accurately.
The Langlands sisters, Kelsey and Caitlin, both had great weeks. Caitlin’s passing was impressive and her spiking improved dramatically. Kelsey led the serving statistics and was prominent on attack.
The team’s specialist passer, Samantha Redgate, also played confidently throughout the week.
Setter Claire Stevens showed real promise with her athleticism and commitment making a difference on numerous occasions.
Middle attackers Courtney Old and Renae White worked hard on their blocking and contributed well on attack.
Five of this team will return to school next year so the future looks bright.
The Matamata B team came 64th out of the 82 girls’ teams at the event.
They played solidly and if it wasn’t for several narrow losses they could have finished a number of places higher.