Sport
20 August, 2024
Horsham tournament winners claim Victorian Volleyball League crown
Heidelberg came from a set down to win the premier one men's.
We know them as BBJSC Pakenham when they play in the annual Horsham Tournament, but when they play in the Victorian Volleyball League, they play under the Heidelberg banner.
But whichever way you look at it, the team is one of the most successful teams in Victoria after going back-to-back in the Premier One men's grand final.
But they had to do it the hard way, trailing Melbourne Uni Renegades two sets to one; the Heidelberg team managed to pull something out of their bountiful bag of tricks and record a memorable win.
Key players Manjot and Kanwar were unstoppable in the fourth and fifth sets as setter Pawan managed to find them on a more consistent basis.
Key Renegades players Alex Bye and Liam Van Gemst lacked their early dominance and were noticeably tired towards the end of the two-hour five-setter.
The team, representing the Indian community in the Pakenham region, have won just about everything worth winning over the past three years.
We saw them first at the Horsham tournament in 2021 when they took the Champions division over Renegades in five sets.
In 2022, they defeated our very own Good Ol' Boys in three sets and then made it a hat trick when they accounted for Monash in five in 2023.
Between all that success, they have managed to record wins at the National Club Championships, Warrnambool Tournament and now the most sought-after one, the premier division of the Victorian Volleyball League.
Full credit to the team and their management, as they continue to be the benchmark team in the state.
School volleyball
The Black Ranges year 7 and 8 qualifying rounds were held on Monday, August 19, at the Horsham Basketball Stadium, where most young students are starting their school volleyball representative journey.
The boys' division will be a wide-open affair, with teams representing Holy Trinity Lutheran College and Horsham College likely to figure predominantly, while the girls' section will be very closely contested.
Horsham College will be favoured to progress in the girl's year 7 division on the back of a strong contingent of players who have been playing consistently in the Volleyball Horsham junior competition.
HTLC will be the team to beat in the year eight girls' division as they have a very strong group who play consistently and are members of the Volleyball Horsham academy program.
The winners will progress to the Greater Western Region finals in October, with victory's there qualifying teams for SSV state finals in November.
Primary division winners
Last week, Years five and six volleyball were played at Horsham 298 Primary School gymnasium, with teams from HTLC, Horsham West, Horsham 298, Murtoa, and Donald competing.
Some great talent was on display in both the boys' and girls' divisions, with winning teams Horsham 298 in the boys/mixed, Murtoa.