VWA teams at AJBVC
Volleyball WA was represented by 12 teams at the 2011 AJBVC held on the Gold Coast from 16th - 18th January 2012. With some teams going early to compete in the QLD State Open, and staying later to play in Round 3 of the National Series, it was a week jammed packed full of volleyball action.
With WA being the reigning Andy Burdin Shield champions, we were keen for another strong performance. Instead of sunny, warm, beach weather greeting the teams, rain and strong winds were the order of play, even cancelling the majority of games on the Tuesday, and forcing games to be reduced in length.
All teams acquitted themselves extremely well and should be proud of their achievements from months of hard training. State captains Michael Snart and Beth Williamson had the honour of reading the players oath at the opening ceremony, and were chosen for their proven leadership qualities and respect from their teammates.
We would like to congratulate all teams and medal winners, especially the U/17W and their coach Melissa Johnson, for "clean-sweeping" the medals in that age group. This is the 3rd consecutive year that WA has achieved this feat, having done the same last year in the U/23M. It is even more sweet for the girls, seeing as they said they were going to do that at their final practice - dreams can come true!
The medal winners are:
- Claire Wheeler & Alexis Elphick - GOLD medal - U/17W
- Simona Koncarevic & Maleini Panikoula - SILVER medal - U/17W
- Shelby Maher & Emma Lauriston - BRONZE medal - U/17W
- Brett Lewington & Rhodri Simmonds - SILVER medal - U/23M
VWA would like to thank all our coaches, Melissa Johnson, Jenny Harris, Cameron Edwards and Marty Suan. WA finished the tournament in equal 2nd place, but were pushed back to 3rd on a count back.
Full results can be found on the AVF website - http://www.avf.org.au/index.php?id=102