Kaiata take out state final

Kaiata 1 men’s volleyball team has successfully defended their State Volleyball League (SVL) Division 2 championship title, beating Trinity in a thrilling five-set match.
After winning the first two sets, Trinity fought back to win the next two, which took the match into the fifth and decisive set.
Kaiata changed their game play and positioning which provided an early lead with several decisive points. This caused uproar over the net, with the referee warning and issuing red and yellow cards against two players. Kaiata 1 outplayed their emotive opposition to win the final set 15-8.
Team captain Rata Joseph said he was thrilled with the consecutive title victories.
“It was an amazing match. We played really well, fighting extremely hard,” he said.
“After losing the third and fourth sets I thought we were in trouble. Our coach Kim was inspirational and made decisive position changes helping the boys pull together. This gave us our early break in the final set. I’m so proud of the boys.”
It was a long season for the defending champs since playing their first SVL match in early May. After several twists and turns they qualified for the semi-finals at the top of the ladder.
The side easily beat the Brumbies three sets to nil to set up the grand final rematch against Trinity.
“After such a long season the boys have earned a few weeks off before we start to prepare for the Good Neighbour Tournament in November,” Joseph said.
“The team gelled well together this year which is fantastic considering we have several new players.
“We have players in the team from different cultural backgrounds, sexual preference, gender, age and religion.
“Sadly, Tomo will not be with us in the next season, probably one of our best players in Kaiata 1 and in the club in general, as he has to return to Japan next month”.

info: For information on Kaiata Volleyball and joining the club, email [email protected] or visit www.kaiatavolleyball.com