​All go for 48th NZSS Volleyball tournament in Palmerston North

Photo Credit - NZ Volleyball

The 48th New Zealand Secondary Schools Volleyball tournament is being playing at Arena Manawatu, Palmerston all next week. The tournament, featuring some 2000 players, plus coaching and support staff, from throughout the country, is the largest indoor national secondary schools sports event on the calendar.

In total, 75 boys and 97 girls teams (172 combined), representing 99 schools will be represented, with play running day and night for five days. The boys and girls Honours, Premier and Challenger finals are on Friday.

Rotorua’s Western Heights High School (boys) and Christchurch’s Burnside High School (girls) are the defending Division 1 champions.  Western Heights defeated a visiting Australian team, Heathfield College, 3-0 (25-23 25-21 25-20) in the 2015 final, whilst Burnside HS edged Nelson’s Waimea College 3-2 (19-25, 25-18, 25-19, 20-25, 15- 12). Bay of Plenty schools Mount Maunganui College (boys) and Otumoetai College (girls) finished third in 2015.  Western HeightsHS (Tyran Gillespie/Daniel Michael) and Burnside HS (Alice Zeimann/Chynae Stark) pairs also won this January‘s NZSS Beach Volleyball championships.

The top 10 seeded boys teams at the tournament are (1-10): Western Heights High School A; Tauranga Boys’ College A; Trident High School; Otumoetai College; Orewa College; Waimea College Gold; Rangitoto College A; Riccarton High School; Manurewa High School; Western Heights High School B.

The top 10 seeded girls teams at the tournament are (1-10): Marlborough Girls’ College; Burnside High School; Otumoetai College A; Westlake Girls’ High School; Tauranga Girls’ College A; Waimea College Gold; Mangere College; Mount Maunganui College A; Aorere College; Rangitoto College.

The format of the tournament  for the top 32 boys and girls Honours divisions will see teams initially split into pools of four, followed by a top 16 and bottom 16 round and then quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. Teams will play nine games throughout the week.

Tournament teams and boys and girls Tournament MVPs will be named at the conclusion of the tournament. Last year, Western Heights HS’s Kahurangi Robinson and Burnside HS’s Alice Zeimann were the tournament MVPs. Kahurangi has now left school and has turned his hand to AFL, whilst Alice returns to lead her school to its title defence in 2016.

Immediately following the tournament, a New Zealand Age Group trial will take place, from which Age Group squads will be invited to attend the Volleyball NZ Age Group Performance Camp in Porirua later in April and later selected to represent national teams.

The NZSS Volleyball Championships were first played in 1969, with St Kentigern College (boys) and Hamilton Girls’ High School the inaugural winners.

The schools that have won the most titles have been Tauranga Boys’ College (11) and Otumoetai College (girls, 13).

The previous five winners have been:
Year
Boys
Girls

2015
Western Heights High School
Burnside High School

2014
Tauranga Boys’ College
Waimea College

2013
Tauranga Boys’ College
Otumoetai College

2012
Western Heights High School
Tauranga Girls’ College

2011
Westlake Boys’ High School
Tauranga Girls’ College

 
Pools and Draws
Visit http://www.volleyballnz.org.nz/NZSSNationals-main to view all the pools and draws 

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