National beach volleyball titles decided at Mount Maunganui

TOUR CHAMPIONS: Alice Bain left and Julia Tilley in action during the New Zealand Beach Volleyball Championship final at Mount Main Beach on Sunday. PHOTO: GEORGE NOVAK

It took until the third and final day of the New Zealand Beach Volleyball Championship before the sun shone on Mount Main Beach but it was worth the wait.

A large crowd packed in on the grass verges by the sand to watch the women's and men's finals on Sunday that ended the NZL Beach Volleyball Tour for the 2016-2017 season.

Mount Maunganui-based pair of Alice Bain and Julie Tilley were defeated 21-18, 21-16 by unfancied Francesca Kirwan (Auckland) and Kelsey Wills (Matamata) in the women's final, with Whakatane teenagers Rene Kapa and Morgan Seymour beating Tauranga's Mike Watson and Manaia Harris from North Harbour by 25-23, 21-18 in the men's event.

While they lost the final, the overall Tour Champions award for the season went to Tilley and Bain with Sam O'Dea (Tauranga) and Tom Hartles taking out the men's division.

Wills says it means a lot to win the national title after a disappointing January for her and Kirwan.

"We have been coming up short to a lot of these girls so to finally get through our semi and then get this final is just awesome," she said.

"We have been working really hard to change what we are doing and improving. It has kind of come together."

Partner Kirwan, who is the daughter of Sir John Kirwan, says it was revenge from losing the first tour final to Tilley and Bain earlier in the summer.

"We had to completely change our game and try to adjust to them but it went well. We were pretty happy to be dominant physically and get some good defensive things going on."

Bain says they had a good season overall but admits "it does suck that we didn't get to win this last match."

"I just felt we played a little inconsistent and they were playing great volleyball at the end of the day. They played consistently well in their passing, serving, everything was going well on their side of the court."

Tilley says their focus is on qualifying for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast next year, with beach volleyball to make its Games debut there.

"That is the ultimate goal at the moment. Everyone is kind of fighting for that spot and I think that has really lifted the women's game. It is a real positive that has come out of beach volleyball being added to the Commonwealths."

Next step to making the team is to perform well on the new-format World Tour over the next six months.

First stop is Shepparton in northern Victoria, Australia from March 3-5.

Tilley and Bain, Dani Quigley and Micah Lindsay-Brown, Melissa Ruru and Shaunna Polley are the three women's teams selected to represent New Zealand.

The men's teams selected are Sam O'Dea and Ben O'Dea, Mike Watson and Tom Hartles, Morgan Seymour and Rene Kapa.

Tilley says a lack of funding is a major challenge.

"We just need some sponsorship to get there as we get no funding. We will be contacting businesses shortly to try and get some support."