29 Jul 2024
The last day of the CHS State Carnival closed with the Moruya Swans saying farewell to three stalwarts after rallying for a final victory. There were shrieks of joy, tears of endearment that were washed away with sugary iced donut treats.
The early morning rain gave way to the sun and the girls volleyball team happily travelled down the motorway to our final games at Homebush. Facing off against the Novocastrian team, Callaghan College we set our jaws and flexed our muscles ready to avoid the dreaded extra refereeing duty that would come with a loss.
Both teams were evenly matched with some rallies going for minutes until one side would blink. We fired hits into their back court and they would push into our deep corners. After the smoke cleared and the tense moment died down Callaghan took the first set 22-20.
Okay, so now we knew it was going to be a hard grind. The second set continued the same back and forth battle. Blocks were thrown up, free balls rolled over the net and in the end we graciously accepted the honour of doing a final duty because we needed to show others how to do it professionally and because we narrowly lost the second set 22-20. No-one quit and it was a tense game that could have gone either way.
After doing a stirring job officiating the team had to bring themselves together for their final game against Inverell High. After a shaky start the Moruya High Swans gathered themselves and took the first set 21-15. All looked well in the second set and with the possibility of extra time to do some much needed shopping in Parramatta there was a slip. Inverell came back with a rush and the shouty encouragement of their coach to snatch the second set from our grasp 22-20. We needed to rally for the final set if we were to give Sophie, Kailee and Abigail the gift of a victory in their final game. With a score of 15-11 the three Year 12 veterans were in tears in the team huddle at the end of the match. We had won and finished 15th and Mr Northey gave them a stirring speech of thanks for their volleyball career with the MHS Swans and the rest gave them a group hug of appreciation.
Again thanks for all the support from the school and parents not just for today but for every single training session and tournament that led us on this journey.
To celebrate our campaign and swear a commitment to return again next year we feasted on our donuts of destiny from Krispy Kreme (not a sponsor, just very delicious).
We’ll Be Back.
