History-making results at Auckland Secondary Schools Senior Volleyball Championships

Posted on March 26, 2024

The Macleans College Boys’ and Girls’ Premier Volleyball teams recently competed in the Auckland Secondary Schools Senior Volleyball Championships held at Bruce Pulman Arena in Takanini.

This tournament is the biggest event which College Sport hosts, featuring over 50 schools from Waiuku to Orewa.

The Macleans College Premier Boys’ achieved their best result in over 40 years, placing fifth and therefore qualifying for the premier grade next season.

The team thoroughly deserved to win their first two matches after close-fought competition. This put them in the round of the top sixteen. The team then had a brilliant second day beating Lynfield College and Northcote College to reach the quarter finals against Rangitoto College; the current national and Australian champions. This was an excellent game but ended in their first loss of the season. The team won their remaining games against Kelston Boys’ High School and Mount Albert Grammar School to finish fifth.

The game against Mount Albert Grammar School was one of their best ever - winning the deciding set 15-13. All players had excellent tournaments but particularly Javier Kruger (Te Kanawa House) and Muhamad Jasin (Batten) in the last game. Earlier this year, the team also won the South Eastern zone for the first time.

The Premier Boys’ team went on to compete in the North Island Satellite Tournament, beating 19 other schools, to finish in first place.

Particular mention should be made of their coach Randy Jiang (Te Kanawa House 2014 - 2018). He is a former Macleans College student and a top player himself who has put countless hours of work into Macleans College volleyball over many years.

The Macleans College Premier Girls’ team is also coached by Randy Jiang. The team had an excellent tournament as well but lost to Carmel College on the first day. They were the third seed, which meant they were playing off for positions 17 to 32. The team won all their games convincingly to make the final against McAuley High School which they narrowly lost to finish second in division two. This was still an excellent result considering they are a young side who finished 24th last year. Particular mention goes to Julia Brito Cabral Vieira (Mansfield) and captain Ally Chu (Mansfield).