The WA contingent of 9 teams has returned from the Australian Junior Volleyball Championships in Dandenong, Victoria clutching medals and buoyed by a week of great results against the nation’s best junior volleyball players.

During a week of true ‘Melbourne weather’ (i.e. cold, wet and windy) more than 60 teams battled away from early morning til late evening at the State Volleyball Centre near the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges.

WA’s u/19 women’s team went one better than their 2007 achievement, again winning 9 out of 10 matches, but this year found success at the right time, beating Victoria in the Gold medal match. WA started strongly, dominating the Vics in the early stages of the match. To their credit, Victoria fought back and levelled the match at 2 sets all. However, WA kept their composure and their nerve, continuing to attack under pressure in the deciding 5th set and came away with a well deserved win. WA def VIC Blue 3-2: 25/15, 28/26, 17/25, 23/25, 15/11

The u21 Mens team, sponsored by Fremantle Steel Fabrications, literally ‘steeled’ themselves for a tough week. They played great volleyball throughout the week, losing only one match during the rounds (to Queensland). The Grand Final saw them face the tall timber of the Queenslanders again, who went into the match undefeated. After winning an extended first set, the WA team was unable to continue finding ways through or over the tall Qld blockers and finished with a highly credible Silver medal. QLD def WA 3-1: 32/34, 25/14, 25/19, 25/15

The trio of medals was wrapped up when the u19 men (WA Black) battled it out against Victoria, coming away with the Bronze medal in an epic 4 set match. Valiant defense and some big hitting and blocking from both teams kept the large and vocal crowd on the edge of their seats. The WA guys threw everything at the experienced Victorian team, with just 9 points separating the teams at the end of the match (out of a total 209 points played). WA Black def VIC Blue 3-1: 25/22, 23/25, 28/26, 31/29

WA was unlucky to win Bronze in the u21 women’s division, going down in a tight 5 set match, also against Victoria. The WA girls played out several 5 set matches during the week and the medal game was no exception. In a back-and-forth match, neither team could assert dominance for extended periods. The 5th set went Victoria’s way after they were able to repel several WA attacks late in the set, and turn a two point deficit into victory. VIC def WA 3-2: 25/17, 19/25, 25/16, 17/25, 15/12

Once more, several West Australian players were recognised as outstanding players in the competition, being awarded All Star medals.

Congratulations to: Michael Snart, Josh Court, Liz Latham, Amanda Robertson (u21); Luke Smith, Holly Shorter and Tenille Ryan (u19) for this exceptional achievement.

Congratulations to all players, coaches and officials involved in the 2008 Australian Junior Volleyball Championships. Volleyball WA looks forward to continued success next year as we head to Queensland for the ’09 Championships.

Perth Volleyball League

The Perth Volleyball League(PVL) is held at Lords which allows all grades to play together on the Sunday. This allows the juniors players in the newly formed Under 18 division to have a chance to watch our premier Super League division and inspire to one day reach that playing level. The season runs over 18 rounds with 3 weeks of finals.