Interschool Volleyball - Juniors Impress @ Upper Hume

A throttling contingent of 43 Year 7 and 8 students hit the Wodonga Leisure Centre on Thursday 12th October to compete in the Upper Hume Junior Volleyball tournament.

We fielded 4 teams selected via 3 days of intense tryouts, especially the Year 7 boys who had over 20 turn up and whom required a 2nd day of trials to finalise the team. 

Following selection, both Year 7 teams led the charge in terms of training, with P.E staff receiving emails and knocks on the Stadium Door daily as up to 20 of them arrived at lunchtime every day for 8 days straight to practice their skills in what is a new sport to most, guided by Mr Manning & Newmo. 

They were scenes reminiscent of the Glory Days of W.H.S Volleyball when Ric & Jenny Chivers led school teams to week-long trips to the National Championships in Canberra, and so it was fitting that new teacher Mr Scholes, an alumni of The Chivers Years, gave up a couple of his lunchtimes to visit and inspire the kids with his expertise.

In the end both the Year 7 Boys and Year 8 Girls teams couldn’t be reduced smaller than 10, with so many of them keen to be a part of the tournament.

At Wodonga, all 4 teams held their own. The Year 7 Boys got off to a flyer, beating Catholic College Wodonga, who dominate many of the sports at Upper Hume level, in a tense deciding 3rd set (40-31 overall). The boys also pulverised Wodonga Middle Years College’s Huon campus, sweeping them 2 sets to zero (40-25). They then narrowly went down to Cathedral College, winning the 1st set but then dropping the next 2 by just a few points each.

Clarence Lampa in particular is a genuine star, displaying the skills, reflexes and game sense of someone who has played Volleyball for years. Zach Wills, Hugh Spring and Lee Woodburne were just 3 of the many others to show talent and reliability in a very strong group of boys that finished with a record of 2-2 for the day, but have serious potential for future years. Wangaratta West PS leadership got a thrill seeing this team’s Team Photo, with 8 of the 10 boys being ex-Wang Westers.

The Year 7 Girls also stitched up the usually strong Catholic College Wodonga, blitzing them 2-0 (40-20). They lost their other 3 matches, but were very close to victory against Cathedral (37-41) and Wodonga Middle Years College Felltimber (36-40).

Kaity Ford and Taylah Wyatt were standouts in the team, showing a great ability to master the tough skills of both serving and digging, which many Year 7s and beginners struggle with. Inanay Gilson was another to shine with her technique in both serving and digging. Again, there is some serious all-round sporting talent in Year 7 among our girls.

At Year 8, both teams relied more on natural talent and instinct, having not trained like the Year 7s had. However both teams had some great results. 

The Girls dominated their opening match against Catholic College Wodonga, triumphing 2-0 (40-20). They also lost 2 further matches which could have easily gone their way, losing to Cathedral (37-41) and Wodonga Middle Years Felltimber (36-40).

With the likes of talls Milly O’Kane and Isabelle Christison and other all-round sporting talents like Jedda Driscoll showing a natural capability at the game, this is a team that with some training could be dangerous in the future.

The Year 8 Boys were even more raw, but again were good enough to win their first match against Wodonga Middle Years Felltimber, 2 sets to 1 (49-45). They started sluggish against opponents warmed up fresh from another game, yet improved quickly to take the win. 

The athletic James Chisholm especially and to nobody’s surprise, proved a threat anywhere near the net. His explosive vertical jump and ability to spike the ball was impressive, with his sidekick Jordan Jackson setting him up regularly. Max Marek was another to take to the game easily, as he & James both do with any sport.

Great to see so many of our kids soaking up the great sport of Volleyball. This was our first appearance at the Upper Hume tournament since 2019, but our kids seem to have a real taste for it now. With the Wangaratta Volleyball League set to return once the WISAC/Barr Reserve Basketball Court Renovations are finished, don’t be surprised if we have quite a lot of our kids signing up to play in the league.

Thanks to Mr Manning, Newmo, and Year 9 mentors Stevie Driscoll and Ava Byrne for coming along to help on what was a great day of W.H.S School Sport. 

• Jud Mullins