Volleyball Horsham claims silver and bronze medals at country championships

A women's team received a silver medal while a men's division one team has returned to the court for the first time since 2019 winning a much-deserved bronze.

In one of the tightest competitions ever seen at a country championship, the women's division one team qualified for the gold medal match finishing in second place on the ladder, in which all four teams in the division won three and lost three matches,

The girls were able to defeat Latrobe Valley twice and Bendigo once, but in the final couldn't find the same winning formula, going down against Latrobe Valley in three tight sets 21-25, 22-25, 23-25.

Captain Kara Johnson was full of praise for her team despite not repeating their gold medal winning effort from 2023.

"The competition was amazing, and our girls really stood tall under intense pressure as every game had something on it, you had to be on your game from the first whistle," Johnson said.

"Our two juniors in Sophie Quick and Paige Hemley, both playing in their first division one championships, played their roles to perfection and showed the rest of the competition that they have a future at the level.

"The rest of the team played great volleyball but in the final when we made an error it turned into four errors, and we lost momentum forcing ourselves to play catch up in each set, which proved too greater bridge to cross."

To top off a great weekend both Johnson and Laelah Robertson were named in the All Star Seven team of the tournament.

In the men's division one bronze medal match the Volleyball Horsham team came from 12-14 down in the deciding set to win 16-14 amid wild scenes of joy from a team that gave their all every time they pulled on the navy and red uniform.

"This competition is brutal with the standard of play by all teams equal to anything you would see at the premier level of state league," said captain Matthew Berry.

"I couldn't be prouder of my team as we fought hard all tournament, especially taking both Sunraysia and Latrobe Valley to five sets in the round robin phase of the tournament."

"We dug deep in the final as we were so determined to go home with a medal and while it was only bronze, it was a bronze medal that was well deserved by a team that played for each other."

Three other Volleyball Horsham teams participated in the tournament with a men's division three team enjoying a win over Sunraysia to finish in ninth position while both division two teams improved on last year's results, in a promising sign for the future from two young teams.

Volleyball Horsham would like to thank the team managers and coaches who gave up their time to look after the teams in what was a big weekend for all involved.