Volleyball
3 September, 2025
Premiers battle to make finals
Who would have thought that after winning the summer season grand final in such spectacular fashion, the reigning premiers would be sitting on the bottom of the A grade ladder without a win at the halfway mark of the winter season?
That’s the plight of Dimitrios Vettos’ Hellenic Nuggets in the Volleyball Horsham A grade competition as we move into the second half of the season.
Vettos said his team was playing well but hadn’t quite put a team away just yet.
“We’ve been in every game we’ve played so far, losing three of them two sets to one, and it was only Jack Hannan’s Rangers that got us in three sets," he said.
“We’ve played a number of sets where we have lost either 23-25 or 24-26 and in most cases we were first to 20.
“I now know how Greg Chappell felt when he said that he wasn’t batting badly, he was just getting out all the time.”
With each team having played each other once, Phantoms have assumed top spot on the ladder from Heidelberg and Rangers, with Tsunami rounding out the top four.
Hellenic Nuggets sit three premiership points adrift of Tsunami and will need to start getting their mojo back if they are to make finals, with only five rounds remaining.
In the women’s A grade competition there is a familiar feel about the top four with Lakers, Phantoms and Tsunami all sitting on four wins and one loss, with last season’s premiers Nuggets breaking into the top four after a strong win over Heidelberg last round.
Tsunami put their best foot forward last round with a come-from-behind win over Lakers.
After dropping the first set 11-25, Emily Hannan and Rebecca Baker combined well to thwart the Lakers' attack and set up their win, taking the remaining sets 25-15, 25-15.
Phantoms unearthed former promising junior Isobel Cameron in their straight-sets win over Vixens.
Cameron has returned to the sport after a few seasons off and picked up where she left off, showing good skills, and will be a key player for Phantoms in their march towards the finals.
The women’s B competition saw Power Divas return to the top of the ladder with a straight-sets win over Von Steiger Sisters.
Eden Pumpa and Tiffany Petering were the best players for the winners while May Rosello tried hard for the Von Steiger Sisters.
Che Ry Latorza and Mhelai were the best players in Von Steiger Shadows win over Stars.
Mother and daughter Tegan and Emily Johns were the best players for Stars.
Win for Armstrong
Volleyball Horsham’s Drew Armstrong was a member of the winning Victorian White under 14 team at the Mornington Junior tournament at the weekend.
Armstrong is training with the team in preparation for the national juniors in Perth at the end of this month.
The tournament was seen as a good opportunity to get match play in the lead-up to the nationals, with Armstrong playing a key role for her team as a passhitter.
Armstrong has a busy month ahead of her with only three trainings left before the nationals, which are played in the final week of September.
The nationals flow into the junior country championships in Horsham on AFL grand final weekend, where Armstrong will be a key component of the Volleyball Horsham under 15 team when she flies back into Melbourne halfway through the event.