Volleyball: They didn't win but Hawke's Bay U15 boys, girls go one better

Hawke's Bay A player King Maxwell towers over the net to make a statement before the annual U15 IPC Volleyball Tournament ended at the PGA Arena, Napier, yesterday. Photo / Warren Buckland

Winning is always the goal but when it becomes a bridge too far teams tend to take stock to see if they fell on the right side of the ledger.

Hawke's Bay A boy's outfit and the Hawke's Bay Giants girls found themselves in a content place after the dust had settled during the annual Interprovincial Championship Under-15 Tournament at the Pettigrew-Green Arena in Napier yesterday. "The goal was to make top four so it would have been to go all the way through in the tourney but, again, it was good experience for the boys and for the sport itself in Hawke's Bay," said HB A coach Lepani Temo after his boys finished fourth, one better than they did last year.

Temo said his players were able to gauge their worth against other teams and he was happy.

The attendance officer at Hastings Boys' High School lauded his captain, Derek Faavae, who championed collective values despite players having individual aspirations.

"For me, having Derek in the team made things a little easier because he's represented New Zealand so having him there creates that sense of belief to achieve their goals personally," Temo said, highlighting the camaraderie was commendable.

The 39-year-old was in his first stint with the team after grabbing the opportunity while mentoring the provincial under-19 men in the past few years.

After solid quarterfinal victory, the HB A side stumbled 2-0 (25-13, 25-16) to a North Harbour Black in the semifinal. In the playoff for the bronze medal, they again succumbed 2-0 (25-13 25-19) to Bay Of Plenty A.

The Dom Collins-coached HB B boys' team learned some tough lessons against older and stronger teams in pool play the but beat Waikato B 2-0 (26-24, 25-18) to finish seventh overall.

Waikato A had too much firepower for North Harbour Black, winning 2-0 (25-16, 25-21) in the boys' final.

Robyn Faave, a Hawkes Bay player, umpires a match during the U15 Interprovincial Volleyball Tournament at the PGA Arena, Napier, which ended yesterday. Photo / Warren Buckland

The HB Giants emulated the feat of HB A boys when they finished fifth at the tourney, one better than last year.

The girls, under the tutelage of Malcolm Nicholson, had a 2-1 measure of Te Totara Nelson Bays Blue (25-20, 19-25, 15-11) in an exciting match.

The Julia McNamara-mentored HB Orcas girls spent more time on the court than all of the above Bay flag fliers combined in post-section play for a 9th to 13th place dust up.

All four games were three setters but had to settle for 12th place despite a three-way tie for five points with second-placed Waikato B and third-placed Wellington Phoenix.

"With an ounce of luck and a little more experience they could have finished up in ninth place as they scored more points than their opponents in two of their losses and the same number in the other defeat," an official said, emphasising most of the players would be available next year and, thus, be more competitive.

BOP A beat North Harbour Black 2-1 (25-16, 23-25, 17-15) in the girls' final.