Sport
Diocesan Volleyball Championships
St Paul’s College were well represented by the four teams who travelled to Coffs Harbour on Friday 24 October to compete in the Lismore Diocesan Volleyball Championships. They played against 53 other teams in various pools, showing great resilience and improvement throughout the day.
Junior Girls
The Junior girls team performed admirably on the day considering their limited opportunities to practice prior to the event. The first game they played saw them soundly beaten, but the second and third game showed improvement. It was great to see them practicing between games to build camaraderie and improve their skills at setting and serving. The girls demonstrated great spirit and improved with every game that they played. Well done to all.
Junior Boys
The Junior Boys Volleyball team started strong with a forfeit win — clearly, their reputation preceded them! Facing taller and more experienced opponents in the remaining games (as our squad had a strong Year 7 contingent), the boys played with spirit, and plenty of enthusiasm. A few matches were nail-biters, showing just how far their skills have come in the short time they have been playing. While not every game went their way, their energy and determination on the court made for a fun and memorable day of volleyball.
Senior Girls
The Senior Girls team had a good range of experience, welcoming newer members to a strong squad who’ve spent many lunch times training in the Mercy Centre. Although unsuccessful in winning any games, they fell short by only 1-3 points on a few occasions. The girls celebrated the smaller wins and showed improvement in serving and setting with each game. Most Improved was awarded to Eva Croker and Most Consistent to Luana Silk.
Senior Boys
After a disappointing early exit from the tournament last year, the Senior Boys came into the competition with a point to prove. They trained hard at every available lunchtime opportunity and developed effective attack and defensive patterns in their rotations, as well as improving their skills.
From the spiking warm-ups, the team was intimidating to the opposition, giving them a taste of what was to come in the match. The pool matches were great examples of teamwork, with the transition from defence to attack being a highlight. Winning three out of the four matches put the team at the top of the pool.
The semi final against St Joseph's Regional College was the first major threat with St Paul's losing the opening six points of the match, but a strong service run from Kai Etheridge built momentum and the nails of victory were spikes hammered in by Kai and Eli Baywood.
With the other St Paul's teams supporting, they made a powerful start in the grand final that Banora Point was never able to recover from, mixing power spiking with clever tactical sets from Matthew Chow. While the gold medals may have been the highlight for the players, dressing up in blue tutus and cheering for the other St Paul's teams throughout their games was an act the staff admired, and the entire College community could be proud of.
After a long, sweaty bus ride home, teachers were very grateful to the students who expressed thanks to their coaches as they departed the bus - a little thank you goes a long way and it’s certainly noted. Thank you to Mr Roger Shipton, Mr Andrew Fouracre, Mr Tom Easson and Ms Beth Rennes for their time and support of the volleyball teams.
As the DLCS moves into a sustainable era, we’re saddened to bid farewell to the Dio Volleyball competition and hope these vital and meaningful sporting opportunities can be provided again in the future.
Full Results can be found at this link.
Mr Leon Robinson - Teacher and Sports Coordinator