2017 has been a year of huge success for McKinnon Volley, the volleyball program here at McKinnon, which has offered training and playing opportunities for over 150 students in years seven to twelve.
One of the most exciting additions to the program has been our heightened participation in the Volleyball Victoria State League. Our Junior Girls, Division 2 Women, Division 3 Men and Division 2 Men teams played games every week at the Dandenong State Volleyball Centre and other venues around Victoria, over a fourteen week season. All of our teams saw great improvement because of this professional experience, and deepened their understanding of the game through playing, training and refereeing.
Another highly anticipated event on the volleyball calendar for this year was the Victorian All Schools Cup, which saw the most participation from McKinnon Volley in recent years. The three-day tournament was held at the Dandenong State Volleyball Centre from 28 to 30 July and was attended by eight teams ranging from year seven to open age. All teams received success in their varying divisions, most notably the Division 1 Under 14 Boys, who finished second out of a massive twenty teams in their age group.
The program saw international achievement this year, as ex-student and beloved McKinnon Volley coach Maree Taig departed for the United States on a prestigious scholarship to play college volleyball, following in the footsteps of her brother Darcy Taig, who returned from a similar experience in April this year.
This comprehensive, friendly program has been a wonderful addition to our schooling year of 2017, and wouldn’t exist without our fantastic coaches, who have worked tirelessly to mentor so many students and share their insight and passion on the game. A special thanks to all of these hard working leaders; Fraser Rhind, Hannah Cole, Nadia Elkin, Luke La Greca, Michael Skalova, Darcy Taig, Maree Taig, Ellie Adler, Peter Kay and Alon Greenberg, who wake up early multiple days a week to lend their time to the improvement and experience of our players. And of course, none of the experiences that McKinnon Volley has offered us this past year would exist without the time, effort and devotion that Mr Phillip DeSalvo constantly dedicates to the program. We would like to offer our greatest appreciation to him and all the other wonderful staff mentioned above.
We all look forward to a big and bright future for McKinnon Volley in 2018 and beyond.
Sienna Beaves & Arwen Verdnik
Year 10 Students
With thunder and lightning serving as the perfect alarm clock at 6am on a Sunday morning in the middle of the holidays, conditions certainly weren’t ideal for the 5km or 15km event that went through the Domain Tunnel and out of the Bolte Bridge before finishing up in the Botanical Gardens.
