Western Heights High School player Talor Kahu may have been only one of two Rotorua-based players to make either the boys or girls New Zealand Secondary School team to play Australia in a one-off test, but that does not mean the city's reputation as a hotbed of volleyball talent wasdiminished.
In short, Kahu is long on talent. He very nearly jumped out of the gym inside ASB Arena and, just as he had done in helping the North Island to a straight sets win over Queensland in the regional final, terrorised his Australian opposition with his power above the net.
The New Zealand team, coached by Western Heights High School coach Eugene Bogun, needed a little longer than most thought to put away their Australian counterparts, slugging it out for five sets before finally prevailing (31-29, 25-17, 19-25, 23-25, 15-13).
Bogun chose to stack his North Island and New Zealand teams with Bay of Plenty players, the gamble paying off.
"We're lucky enough to have 10 out of the 12 from the Bay [in the North Island team]," he said.
Secondary School Boys: Madison Riddall, Reece Matier, Jackson Ellis (all Mount Maunganui College), Tom Mabbott (Tauranga Boys' College), Talor Kahu, Kahurangi Robinson (both Western Heights High School), Kane Turketo (Tikipunga High School), Brad Monahan (Napier Boys' High School), Jayden Crosbie-Piritae, Reuben Jenkin, Andrew Wise (all Riccarton High School).
