Masters

The 22nd Annual Australasian Volleyball Masters competition was held April 6th to 9th Easter long weekend in Geelong.

Sizzling form and a blistering attack were all behind us when we walked on the court for the 2007 Masters tournament at the seaside city of Geelong. The usual blue-lip drilled and hardened SAVC unit was replaced by a team of sneaky and determined craftsmen, looking for fun and mischief. To our great satisfaction and the sad lament of teams like Duck's Nuts, we came away with a worthy medal.

Two games were played each day over four days. Each game was a compulsory three set game except for the Grand Final, which was a standard best of five format.

GOOD FRIDAY
As we hit the court on Good Friday there were lots of laughs at our own expense. We hadn't trained together at all and many of us were feeling decidedly rusty. "Oops, sorry" could be heard a lot. Despite our nervous warm-up however, once the whistle blew we seemed to 'turn on the switch' and pull together a half decent attack led by Slugger , JB and Paul Grimmett. Sparta Old Boys from New Zealand had a way too complex defensive structure, reminiscent of the old Austral 'triangle' days. Unlucky for them; 2-1 WINNERS SAVC!

There was a zero tolerance policy on boredom , lack of controversy and unworthy beer. During the warm-up on Friday afternoon the setter from Wallabies 40+ decided to walk past the hitting zone as we spiked from position 2. I hit down the line with plenty of power but not much control and somehow managed to KERTONK the setter on the back of the head - popping out the Chuppa Chup he had in his mouth! Normally I would celebrate this bullseye on the target but since it was Masters I went to say sorry. After apologising I was met with a whiney-scowling reply "Well - so am I - I think I've chipped my tooth!". His approach to being hit was less than satisfactory and provided the impetus for a feisty game. Magnificent serving from Peter 'Stainmaster' McConnell Unlucky for them; 2-1 WINNERS SAVC!

A spit roast dinner was organised for that evening, so after a couple of quiet beers and Coopers Ice Coffee we got lost and then unlost to the venue. Birrel is a non-alcoholic 'beer' that is forced upon the responsible who have to drive. It was deservedly banned from the fridge and renamed 'Coopers Ice Coffee' to make it perfectly clear of its status.

EASTER SATURDAY
Saturday was another day of triumph for the South Masters side. In the morning we played Ducks Nuts 35+ and despite a few of our boys nursing sore heads we managed turn the game around. Strong Blocking from JB and Jimbo. Unlucky for them; 2-1 WINNERS SAVC.

In the afternoon we played the Vic Masters 45+ in a relatively one sided affair. A key objective was to line up George Miraz (a legend in Victorian volleyball but a cranky old bugger) for one of Sluggers king hit spikes. The moment came. Slugger is set a premium ball by Scotty Taylor , he takes his spike arm off 'safety',... then stuffs it up. The look of fear in George Miraz's eyes was still a priceless moment. After winning the first two sets we lost concentration and let them take a consolation set but it was all tooooo late. Unlucky for them; 2-1 WINNERS SAVC!

It was time for duty. We decided to share the load since it is usually a mindless effort. Something was not quite right however. At timeouts one SAVC linesmen had nowhere to sit, which is a pain when you are sore from the days activities. Slammer, the other linesman had managed to find a chair which was a clear act of unnecessary resourcefulness and deserved to be punished! At the end of the first set I casually walked over to him to say g'day (or so he thought). As he worked at BlueScope Steel I thought I could divert his attention by feigning an interest in pylon welding (certainly a worthy topic for your next dinner party). As he got up out of his chair and turned to inspect the style of weld, I grabbed the chair and walked back under the net, with my prize, to the far corner. He was spewing and laughing. We felt relieved Slammer was brought back to the pack - but then he did the unexpected - he found another chair! The audacity! This situation was intolerable. A quick meeting was convened behind the scenes on how to get the other chair from him as well. Jimbo was nominated as the commando to sneak behind him while the match was going on and rescue the chair from Slammer's clutches. This top secret mission worked a treat and Slammer was suitably jacked off to see his second chair was gone. And so yet again we had turned the dreary task of duty into something a whole lot more fun!

In good spirits we walked to Kardinia Park for a dinner dance. The boys networked well with other teams and enjoyed our fair share +1 of wine and beer. Back at the caravan park there was a lively and pointless discussion on the position of the Pakenham bypass. An attempt to put Coopers Ice Coffee in the fridge was quickly thwarted.

EASTER SUNDAY
Waking up for the Sunday game was a struggle. The body was sore now and the late night didn't help. We tried valiantly against a side still playing League in Melbourne (Mornington 30+) but could only manage second place 0-3.

By the afternoon we had collected out thoughts and played much better against Wallabies 45+. A temporary loss of reason saw us drop the first set but we regrouped and beat them convincingly in the second. Then something strange happened. The Wallabies guys were so tired from three straight days of volleyball they decided to chuck it in and call it a day under the banner of 'Honourable draw'. Slugger was of course too smart for that and made sure it was 25-0 in the third! Unlucky for them; 2-1 WINNERS SAVC!

EASTER MONDAY
With a decent sleep behind us, the Semi Final against Ducks Nuts 35+ was going to be fiery match. We were one man down as Scotty Taylor pulled out due to injury. Slammer stepped in to set and performed admirably. The 'Nuts' were strangely cocky given the 'kerthumping' we gave them on Saturday but this didn't last. We had a terrific start to the match and forged a lead in the first set that was never challenged. Good serving, blocking and tight defence were key features. In the second set we had a bad patch which allowed them to break out a lead of their own. A determined fightback saw us nearly pinch the game in two sets but true to form it went to three sets. This was very familiar territory by now. We rallied well, supported by guest 'International' Jetsetter, newly married, father to be and SAVC Legend Nigel 'Jars' Packer! With support from Jars and his lovely wife Jen, we sent the Ducks waddling back to the putrid swamplands of NSW. Unlucky for them; 2-1 WINNERS SAVC!

And so it was, we found ourselves in the Grand Final against Mornington 30+. Scotty Taylor made his triumphant return to the courts after enduring massive swelling around his knee. Mornington 30+ were taller, younger and fitter than the SAVC legends but we were all too aware that in a final anything can happen. We chased down deflections and blocked their strong hitters despite being subjected to their disgraceful green, purple and white playing tops that had been designed by a Pablo Picasso's long lost brother; Pukeitup Picasso. Despite our best efforts we couldn't finish the first set in front. The second set was a high pressure, intense struggle. After being down most of the set we constructed an old boy 'far too sneaky' comeback and reached set point. Unfortunately three long rallies did not go our way and we walked to the other end knowing a five set game would require enormous reserves of inner strength. To their credit, the Mornington 30+ side played very well and we could not rise to the level required to take one more set. 0-3 SILVER MEDAL SAVC.

A magnificent fighting effort was displayed by all players and we had a great time joking around and hanging out. Special thanks go to Craig Watson for organising all the paperwork, communication, uniforms and equipment. We would also like to thank the SAVC Club for supporting our team in this tournament and their strong support of all SAVC teams who play Masters Tournaments.

Team members:

• John 'JB' Bennett - Middle hitter
• Paul 'Grimmett' Grimmett- Setter / outside hitter
• Darrell 'Krackers' Kraehenbuehl - Outside hitter
• Jim 'Jimbo' McCarthy - Middle hitter / outside hitter
• Peter 'Stainmaster' McConnell - Outside hitter
• Niranjan 'Slammer' Sekhar - Outside hitter / setter
• Scott 'Scotty' Taylor - Setter / hit one memorable winner
• Craig 'Slugger' Watson (cpt) - Outside hitter / part-time middle

The results were as follows:

Click here to see photos

↑ Return to top

© 2007 | South Adelaide Volleyball Club | Last Updated January 25, 2009 | Email the web manager