Volleyball

Round four of the Santa Sabina Invitational Volleyball Competition took place on Saturday 5 November with Pymble winning four out of five games played, and two of our teams having a bye. A big shoutout to our Pymble 1, Pymble 2, Pymble 3, and Pymble 5 teams who are still undefeated!

Team of the week 

This week’s Team of the Week goes to Pymble 4! Here’s a match report from their close encounter against Monte Sant’ Angelo (Monte) on Saturday from Captain Ollisha Muthukuda:

Pymble 4 were very excited to play on Saturday. Overall, everyone had such amazing energy and tried their best. We began with our warm-up session which is very important before a game as it helps the team get focused and avoid injury. Since Pymble 4 won the toss, we decided to serve first for a tactical advantage. It was great that everyone was able to serve consistently (throughout the entire game). Nevertheless, we were lucky enough to get the first point of the set. After every point, Pymble would cheer each other on and everyone in the team made sure to encourage each other and maintain a lively spirit. Our hard work paid off for the first set which made everyone extremely happy. 

Going into the second set, Monte (our opposition) stepped up their game. Their serving was very consistent and deep (their balls would often go to the back of the court) which made them harder to receive. Therefore, we had to find ways to adjust to whoever was serving. For example, if someone had very short serves (after serving, the ball would land closer to the net), everyone pushed forward. This helped us adjust to the situation and enabled us to win back points. However, the team still needed some time to become familiar with the serving pattern of Monte which caused a setback in the second set. 

As we approached the third set, there was a little bit of tension as everyone knew that this set was most likely going to decide the game. Our coach put a heavy emphasis on getting the ball high up and to the middle of the court. This would ensure that everyone in the team had enough time to get to the ball and hopefully eventuate a successful outcome. However, he also made sure that we worked on cheering each other on and keeping the spirit alive. Throughout the set, Monte was close behind, yet, towards the end of the third set, Monte was close to winning. This put a lot of pressure on Pymble 4 as everyone was starting to feel the weight of the game. However, as the service came back to our side, the game started to turn around. Though Pymble were five points behind, we were able to win the game and surpass Monte. This would not have been possible without everyone’s determination, dedication, and our teammate’s brilliant serving. 

At the end of the game, everyone felt thrilled and excited for the next weekend.

Australian Volleyball League – Hobart, Saturday 5 November 2023

A word from Emma Sargeant (Year 11), Volleyball Captain’s State Team:

“t was an amazing experience for me to travel with team NSW Phoenix over the weekend to Hobart to play round 5 of the Australian Volleyball League (AVL) season against the Tasmanian Echidnas. The trip did not start too well as I got to the airport on Saturday at 5.30am only to find out that our flight was cancelled. As a result, the team ended up flying via Melbourne which delayed our arrival. Thankfully, the match was rescheduled to a later time but still, we only got to the venue just in time for the warm-up. The matches were tough, we were often behind the Echidnas, chasing them in many sets. On one occasion, we were seven points behind and turned it around to win the set which was very exciting. By the end of the weekend, we played two matches, and we won both 3 to 0 which places us fourth on the ladder. Our next round will be a challenge for us as we are facing the undefeated team Melbourne Vipers on the Central Coast.

Chris Wood
Sports Co-ordinator – Volleyball