In pool play they lost 2-0 to Napier BHS A (19-25 18-25) and 2-0 to Tauranga Boys’ College A (17-25 20-25) and beat Newlands College 2-0 (25-8 25-7).
“We were hoping to upset Napier and sneak into Division 1 by qualifying second behind Tauranga,” said Simon Murphy, teacher in charge of volleyball.
A nervous start“But instead of putting Napier under pressure, we made a nervous start to the tournament and made too many errors. The performance against Tauranga was much better,” he said.
“We were competitive with one of the favourite teams to win the tournament.”
The final pool match, against Newlands College of Wellington, was a relatively easy win.
Gisborne’s third placing in the pool put them in Division 2 for teams contesting places 17 to 32.
In Division 2 pool play, they lost to Tauranga Boys’ College B 2-1 (25-20 23-25 14-16), but beat Tauranga’s C team 2-0 (25-7 25-8) and Otumoetai College 9A 2-0 (25-15 25-12).
Against the Tauranga B team, Gisborne comfortably won the first set and looked the better team. Unforced errors in the second set made the Gisborne boys nervous and gave Tauranga confidence. Gisborne regrouped for the third set and had a match point but could not close it out. Tauranga then won four points in a row to win the set and the match.
Gisborne won their other two pool matches easily and started to look like one of the top teams in Division 2.
In the playoffs for final positions, Gisborne lost to Taradale High School 2-1 (25-19 18-25 11-15). They had beaten Taradale twice in the past month and comfortably won the first set.
“Taradale’s key player was hard to stop and we were guilty of giving the ball back to them and waiting for an error rather than backing our own attack,” Simon Murphy said.
“The longer the game went, the better they played and the more we lost confidence.”
Gisborne hit their straps in a fifth-to-eighth playoff game against Upwey High School of Australia, winning 2-0 (25-16 25-18). The serving was strong, the defence solid and the players varied their attack, showing patience and waiting for the right opportunity to take the point.
The Gisborne A team finished with another win, beating Trident High School of Whakatane in the playoff for fifth and sixth. The score was 25-12, 25-15, and the team played with the sort of form that could have taken them higher up the rankings had they found it earlier.
Brett Hockey was a standout player and Tawera Nikora showed he was developing into a skilful and strategically astute setter.