AVSC welcoming new competition 40 years on

After 40 years of the Australia Volleyball Schools Cup, you wouldn’t expect to see a school competing for their very first time. 

Cabramatta High School has made the trip up from south-west Sydney to take part in all that Schools Cup has to offer, bringing along a boys and a girls team. 

Captain of their Year 11 Girls Division 2 team Angelina Truong is grateful to be able to lead her team in an event of this scale. 

“I have been playing for four years now and as the captain it’s really great as I get to lead my girls, but also help them,” Truong said. 

“We haven’t really been playing together for too long as a squad, so it’s really great to come up to Queensland and have the opportunity to play.

“We have stadiums back home but nothing compared to this, it is massive here. I’ve never seen a court space this large before and it’s really great.”

Playing their first game of the tournament on Tuesday afternoon, Cabramatta were able to walk off the court with a win, providing the team with the confidence and knowledge that they can compete with schools from across Australia. 

“We were able to get a win in our first-ever game, and the best part was seeing everyone hustle,” she said. 

“We never backed down, and we never put our heads down and we just kept going.

“What I think is special about our team is our bond. 

“Even though we haven’t been playing together for long, we’ve developed a really strong bond.” 

Cabramatta coach Jenny Lu shared that the process to get to the Schools Cup was hard but now that they’re here, it’s incredibly surreal. 

“We planned this really late so we had to plan our flights and accommodation which has been a real process, but we are so thankful to have the support from our school,” Lu said. 

“But now that we’re here, it’s all a bit surreal. 

“It’s also the first time these kids have gone on a camp away from home as well so that’s an experience in itself for them.

“Just to see every school here, and how big the event is and official it is, it’s all quite surreal.” 

Equally as proud to see the girls walk away with a first game win, Jenny is seeing the rewards to making this tournament a possibility for the students of Cabramatta. 

“I’m super proud of them,” she said. “These girls especially have been nagging me to plan this all year and when we finally did, they were just so grateful, and it’s so nice to see that first win in the books.

“The tournament is just incredible and it’s nice to see everyone playing volleyball.

“I know the kids at our school just play for fun, but to get to play for their school on a national level is just crazy.”