Junior Schools Cup is an annual volleyball festival targeted at Year 7 and 8 secondary students. Catering to approximately 2,000 students over three days, athletes of all skill levels are welcome. This event was held during week four of Term Four.
Somerset College sent two teams to the event, both playing in the Division 2 competition.
The Year 8 Boys went into the event with nervous confidence as for many of them, this was the first time they had played in a major volleyball tournament. Lawrence Lee and William Li both lead the team through the early round matches with outstanding setting and strong play at the net.
During the pool play phase of the tournament on Friday and Saturday the boys improved with each game, becoming more attacking during each game they played. Harrison Kerr and Louie Shi started to dominate the middle attack with some outstanding spikes. The team only lost one game placing them high in the pool and close to an opportunity to play in the gold medal match on Sunday against a very strong team from Tin Can Bay.
With one last pool game on Sunday morning the boys cemented their place in the final with a strong win over Chinchilla. Cruz Dobson was connecting well with his spikers and Jamie Chirathivat-Geralds was proving a handful at the net.
In the final the boys acquitted themselves well, Jay Lee was able to ensure the game stayed close and Carlin Lee was able to shut down many of the oppositions attack at the net. But the opposition were just too strong eventually losing the final the boys walked away with the silver medal.
The Year 8 girls team demonstrated impressive skills and teamwork over the three-day tournament to finish the weekend undefeated Gold Medallists.
Leading from the front as captain, Lucy Pluss showed consistency across the entire weekend, setting up plays in frontcourt, and showing the opposition her power at the net on multiple occasions. New to the volleyball arena, Charli Hedger took on the challenging role of setter and showed great improvement in every game. Her positive attitude helped prepare the team in warm-up and on the court, and rally behind her in points won by her individual skill. Brianna Peardon’s height and dominance at the net, meant the team could trust her to get the job done. Blocking and hitting anything that came her way, Brianna’s positive energy helped push the team to victory.
A constant calm energy in backcourt and her strong presence at the net saw Sara Gacina Richardson save many points and hit multiple kills to help her team win points. The newest player to volleyball on the court Cara McQuaid, improved with every game and became someone you could count on to rush under the ball and get a touch. The experience and skill Jorja Grocott brought to the team, saw her guide the girls on court during tough rallies, strong serving performances and outstanding hitting at the net. A leader to all, Jorja’s ability on the court was able to help ease the nerves of the team. Almost down and out in the week leading into the tournament with an injured shoulder, Ailin Zhao showed no signs of slowing down and became an impressive serving machine on more than one occasion – including single-handedly serving her team to a comeback win no spectator thought possible. Nominated as chef moral officer on and off the court, Sabine Booth’s energy helped lift the team in the weekend’s toughest games. And her quick thinking on the court saw her accomplish some great individual points. As the only year 7, Elenor McGrath held her own and rose the challenge of the Year 8 division, being a consistent and reliable teammate. Bronte Clifford came into the tournament with a positive and selfless attitude, willing to do anything for her teammates, whilst putting on strong back and front court performances.
The team’s most impressive performance came in the final match of the tournament – the Gold Medal match. Battling it out against Mountain Creek, the girls had to keep the energy high, whilst staying calm under pressure. A win in the first set 25-22 put the girls in a strong position moving into the second set. With the scores level at 18-18, Somerset stayed calm and showed maturity in their skills and quality teamwork to push to a medal winning score of 26-24. Overall, the weekend was one of positive results, team bonding and positive skill improvement that the girls can’t wait to continue in 2025.
A massive thank you to Issy Garland who coached the girls all weekend and to Dane Robinson and the sports department for supporting the team.
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