Beach Volleyball: Tauranga boys' pairings victorious

Otumoetai College players Roebi Bidois (left) and Jasmine Tawa in action at the NZ Secondary Schools Beach Volleyball Championships held at Mount Main Beach. Photo / Andrew Warner

Tauranga Boys' College pairings came out on top in both the senior and junior divisions at the New Zealand Secondary School Volleyball Championships held at the Mount Main Beach at the weekend.

Tom Reid repeated his success of 12 months ago in the senior boys' division to retake the title he won with Caleb Aperahama in 2014, this time teaming up with Daniel Kilpatrick to beat Mount Maunganui College's Perry Preston and Ethan Dunn in the final.

It was a two sets to nil win.

"It was just as hard as last year," said Reid. "In the first set at 18 all it was pretty tight. In the first set they really pushed us."

But the first time pairing had an easier ride in the second set to take the title.

Reid's regular partner on the national beach volleyball tour, Kahurangi Robinson, was representing Western Heights, but the pair will now team up again for the rest of the summer.

Kilpatrick said he was "pretty stoked" with the win.

"It's always a good game against Perry and Ethan."

The win makes it the third time in a row that boys' college has taken the senior boys' title.

Things look promising for the future, with boys' college duo Ryan Forlong and Kyle Hamilton improving on last year's fifth place to take the title, beating Tane MacDonald and Matt Heyward of Waimea College, Nelson, in two sets in the final.

"It feels awesome," said Hamilton after the game.

Both MacDonald and Forlong are in the frame for a New Zealand under-17 tour to the northern hemisphere later in the year. Mount Maunganui College students Emma Flynn and Kiana Tawa, taking on defending champions Nicky Pio and Alice Zeimann of Christchurch's Burnside High School, served up a three-set match that ebbed and flowed.

Pio and Zeimann took the initiative in the first set before the Mount pairing clawed their way back to 14-all. At 18-18 it was still anyone's set before Pio and Zeimann won 21-18.

With the wind beginning to trouble the players, it was Flynn and Tawa that came back in the second and after Pio and Zeimann saved four set points, took their 21st point to even the score.

A decisive run of six points saw a 6-4 deficit turn into a four point advantage for the South Islanders who kicked on to take the final set 15-10.

Over 130 teams were involved in the two-day tournament.