THE 23rd Collie Coal Cup volleyball tournament was held at Roche Park last weekend with 28 teams from Perth, Mandurah, Albany, Bunbury, Busselton and Collie participating.
A high standard of volleyball was played, especially the men’s A grade which was outstanding.
Both Collie teams were competitive. The men’s team lost only one game to finish equal second in their grade, and only just missing out on the grand final by losing to Mandurah 2-0 in the semi.
Great back court coverage and digging by Shane Kenyon and Hayden DeAngelis helped the team to attack. Great setting by Tammy Mhaistone led to awesome displays of hard spiking by Kyle Hulls and Dave DeAngelis.
Defensively, the opposition were held off by the blocking efforts of Gazza French and Hayden Stone.
The Collie women’s team was a much improved unit and were worthy opponents in all their games. They finished fifth with a win under their belt.
The games were controlled well by setters Jasmine Hulls and Adrienne De Angelis with good outside hitting by Toni Blanchard and Denae Sopolinski. Jess Newman, Sammy French and Lisa Fitzgerald are all new to the team and did an outstanding job in the back court.
Overall winners were –
Men’s A, Joizes Gryssht; Women’s A, Olympians; Men’s A reserve, Who The Hell; Women’s B, Busselton; Men’s B, Bunbury.
The Collie Coal Cup was awarded on the basis of performance, sportsmanship, appearance and commitment to umpiring duties.
The Collie Volleyball Association did an outstanding job in organising the tournament and was joined this year by the CSHS Gallipoli Touring group who were fund raising for their trip by catering for the event. The food was fabulous and the organisers did a wonderful job from start to finish.
