At the end of Week 6 Proserpine State High School took 3 teams of Year 9 and 10 students to the Gold Coast to compete in the Queensland Volleyball Intermediate Schools Cup. Leading into the tournament we were well prepared, undergoing some very hard training for both playing and refereeing. We went into the competition looking to have fun and play some high-level Volleyball against the rest of Queensland.
The big day of travel via plane and mini bus on Thursday didn't affect the students as they were all up early and raring to go despite the chilly temperatures! At the venues, there were masses of excited players who were also ready. All teams started the competition with some nervous yet still impressive volleyball, with some well-earned wins over tough opponents. With a couple of wins under their belt for Day 1, the teams were spurred on to better themselves for Day 2. This excellent play and commitment continued throughout the weekend despite some early morning games and very late games which saw the Year 10 Division 1 Boys finishing first in their pool, the Year 9 Girls Honours and Division 2 Year 10 Boys finishing 3rd in their pool. The Division 2 Year 10 Boys faced some hard competition and tough games in the repecharges which saw them playing off in the bottom half semi-finals. The boys had a good crack on Sunday against Emmanuel College to place 6th for Division 2. The 9 Girls Honours team played hard, took some sets off the Top 4 teams and progressed through in the playoffs on Sunday against Kelvin Grove & Nambour with a win and a loss to place 6th in QLD. The Year 10 Boys Division 1 were on a high after Saturday with a win against Ambrose Treacy in the Top 8 Quarter Finals which put them through to the Top 4! The boys came out fighting on Sunday against Mountain Creek, and after a nail biting first set loss, 25-23, they came back 19-25 and 10-15 to take the win! The Year 10 boys were through to the Division 1 Grand Final! They played some exceptional Volleyball against Holland Park, the 10's fought hard after coming back from a loss in Set 1 to win Set 2, 25-17. The boys were pumped with the other PSHS team and ex-students (Bronte Templeton & Grace Male) raising the roof in the Hall. They put their hearts on the line and ended up coming away with the silver medal! A huge congratulations to Mr Ben Smith and the Division 1 Year 10 Boys for being the 2nd best team in QLD!
It was an awesome 3-day competition watching the students grow and improve in confidence and skill level. I'm sure they will continue to bring these skills to their future games and also share this knowledge with the other PSHS Volleyball students at the Townsville and Districts Queensland School Cup later this Term. I would like to thank all of the students for the great effort they made on and off the volleyball court, assisting myself, Mr Smith and Mrs Ryan, making the trip extremely enjoyable. A very big thank you also to the families of these students, who made it possible for them to attend training before the trip and who supported us while we were away.
One final thankyou; our teams would not have looked as professional on the courts without the help of our new jerseys which are proudly sponsored by Ryan Building Group and Proserpine Pies & Pastries!
