Kiwis to Compete for Titles at Australian Volleyball Schools Cup
More than 130 schools are on the Gold Coast this week for the 2022 Australian Volleyball Schools Cup.
It’s the first full edition of the event since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. A reduced version of the event ran in 2021, however due to boarder restrictions, the usual interstate and even international schools was unable to attend.
This year has seen the return of the event to its former glory, with not only a fantastic interstate turnout, but also a few international teams making their Schools Cup appearance.
Once such schools is Tauranga Boys College, from Tauranga on the North Island of New Zealand. They have sent one team to compete in the Open Boys Honours division, as valuable international experience to help identify talent for the future New Zealand nationals teams.
The Kiwis have opened their Schools Cup campaign with a win against Billanook 3:1 (25-13, 20-25, 25-17, 25-23), and Rossmoyne 3:0 (25-20, 25-13, 26-24).
Tauranga Boys College athlete Gus Shivnan said he is loving the opportunity to compete internationally on the Gold Coast, and to test their skills against Australian teams.
“It’s pretty cool getting this experience, there are so many teams over here from junior to seniors, and it’s completely different to playing in New Zealand but it’s really fun,” he said.
“There’s so much depth in this competition, it’s all high level volleyball and there are no easy games.”
Shivnan’s teammate Jed Donovan said the team have come to the Gold Coast with high expectations of themselves, but the standard of competition is even higher than originally expected.
“We have high expectations, there are really good teams here and it’s a good level of volleyball,” Donovan said.
“Coming over here was a bit of a shock in that first game, realising how good these teams are, it’s a great development opportunity,” he said.
The team have been preparing for this event since the middle of the year, and Shivnan said that while they want to finish in the top half of the field, an enjoyable debut international experience is the top priority.
“A successful tournament for us would just be to develop as a team, get better, get a couple of wins on the board and hopefully make top six,” he said.
“We’re aiming for top three,” challenged Donovan. “But we’re really going to need to work hard and hustle.”
Follow the schedule and results HERE
