Volleyball champion Alice Zeimann looking forward to 2016

Burnside High School’s Alice Zeimann is a three-time New Zealand secondary schools beach volleyball champion.

Earlier this week Alice returned to Christchurch from Mount Maunganui having won the NZSS Senior Girls’ Beach Volleyball title for the third consecutive year.

Alice and fellow Year 13 Burnside High School student Chynae Stark (both pictured above) teamed up to win the national title for the first time together, after Alice and previous partner Nicky Pio won on the sand in both 2014 and 2015.

“For the last two years I was with Nicky and this year I was with Chynae, so different pairings mean a different style of play. I think we adapted really well and so it was awesome to win again,” Alice said. “Especially leading into our indoor season as well.”

The Christchurch pair played several games along the way, going on to beat Tikipunga High School from Whangarei in the quarterfinals, local Bay of Plenty school Otumoetai College in the semi-finals and Whangarei Girls’ High School in the final.

For Alice, it’s the start of a big year in 2016 playing both beach and indoor volleyball.

School-wise, she said she’s got the school indoor national title to defend in Palmerston North in early April. Last year Burnside High School beat Nelson’s Waimea College in the Senior Girls’ final. Alice was the tournament MVP.

“We’ve lost seven players from last year so we’re quite a young team in 2016. But even though we are young we are still really gutsy and I think we have a good shot of defending our title.”

Then there are at least a couple of trips overseas this year representing New Zealand.

“I am going to Laos in May with Emily Johnston from Tauranga’s Bethlehem College for a Beach Volleyball World Championship qualifying tournament. If we qualify we get to go to the World Champs in July in Cyprus.

“For indoor I am hoping to get re-selected in the New Zealand senior women’s team, that plays this year in the South Pacific Challenge, Eastern Oceania and Oceania Championships.”

Volleyball has already taken Alice overseas over the past couple of years, to such places as Florida and California in the USA, Vanuatu, Taiwan and Thailand. She made her senior New Zealand women’s debut last year.

Alice said she used to play other sports but she now has to focus on volleyball, which is basically year-round at the moment. She’ll be training six days a week this year.

Alice said that she enjoys both beach and indoor volleyball, but if she has a preference it’s for the indoor game. “I really like beach but at the moment I prefer indoor but that is just because of the opportunities for me – I am going for an indoor scholarship in 2017 in the USA, hopefully at the University of Minnesota. They are third ranked in the country.”

She explained the differences between beach volleyball and indoor volleyball.

“Beach volleyball is much more individual. I think it is a lot more mental because you are getting 50 percent of the ball, so there is a lot more responsibility.

“It is also harder to move and jump on the sand, and being out in the sun and the wind, and sometimes the rain, you are exposed to the conditions so you have to be able to adapt.”
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Alice is also busy at Burnside High School academically. Next year she is eyeing up studying for a BA in international relations or communications.

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