This years volleycup was a great success, with 5 mens teams and 4 womens teams competing over the weekend.
There was some heated competition during the weekend and some very closely contested matches.
On the Friday evening and Saturday we saw the teams compete in a double round robin of preliminary matches. The was some heated competition and a number of closely contested matches.
The end of the weekend saw an end to the games and the winners were:
Mens: Vypers (1st); Palmos (2nd); Uni(3rd)
Womens: Kankles (1st); Mixed Lollies (2nd); Frangipani (3rd)
A big thankyou to all the Alice Springs players who made the trip to Darwin and to the ladies from Kankles who ran the BBQ and the drinks esky.
Another full day highly contested Volleyball at Marrara Indoor Stadium.
Our local teams played well but were unable to come out on top. NT men started things off in the morning against Papua New Guinea who controlled the first set, winning 25-17.
NT rallied and fought hard to keep toe to toe with PNG who won the second set 25-22.
PNG started the third set firing, winning successive rallies to gain a 6 point advantage. Our boys fired up and fought to get back within 2 points but were unable to chase down their opponents who won 25-21.
While many of us were having lunch, the NT women were warming up for their match against defending champions Macau.
NT Women started strongly and took the lead in the first set, scoring some great points but were unable to to contain Macau who rallied to take the set. The Macau defence only got better as they managed to continually keep the ball alive to win the next two sets and the match.
Set scores were: 25-21, 25-17, 25-16.
The NT Men were ready for their 1:30pm match against Macau, but were forced to wait as an epic battle of wills took place between South Australia and Papua New Guinea – National Capital District.
PNG had already managed to win the first two sets of the match and looked as though they would also take the third when South Australia fired up and won successive points to come from behind and take the third set. Souths kept the momentum going and quickly took the match to a 5th set race to 15.
With the game on the line, both teams fought tooth and nail and Souths had managed to reach match point with a 1 point lead. PNG managed to win the rally and tie it up at 14 all, before winning the next two rallies to win the match. Set scores: 21-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-16, 14-16.
After their longer than expected wait, NT Men hit the court eager for their encounter with Macau. Unfortunately for the NT Men, their opponents proved to be the better team, defeating them in straight sets
You can see the results for Day 2 mens here and here. The women’s day two results are here.
NT Setter John Lay sending the ball to the awaiting Matt O'Brien. Pic from DarwinHub.com
Today was the first day of competition and it was great seeing such a full stadium supporting Volleyball!
Our NT Women played against Papua New Guinea – NCD, and despite taking the first set, were unable to win the match, losing 3 sets to 1. The set scores were: 25-14, 13-25, 12-25, 15-25.
The NT Men’s team had two matches today. Their first was against Torres Strait Island, which they won convincingly in 3 straight sets. The set scores were: 25-11, 25-18, 25-17.
In their second game, they were unable to continue their good form losing to Papua New Guinea – NCD in straight sets. The set scores were: 15-25, 18-25, 16-25.
You can find the full results information at the Arafura Games Volleyball Results Page.
Tomorrow we will see the Northern Territory women square off against Torres Macau at 12 noon. The NT Men will again play two games, starting at 9am against defending champions Papua New Guinea. They will hit the courts again at 1:30pm to battle Macau.
A full volleyball program guide can be found here.
Today the Arafura Games are officially open!
The opening ceremony starts at 6pm this evening.
Tomorrow we will see the start of the Volleyball Tournament. This year we have 8 men’s teams and 6 women’s teams.
The men’s teams are:
Australian Defence Force
Northern Territory
Macau
Papua New Guinea – NCD
Papua New Guinea
South Adelaide
Timor Leste
Torres Strait Island
The women’s teams are:
Australian Defence Force
Northern Territory
Macau
Papua New Guinea – NCD
South Adelaide
Torres Strait Island
The teams will play a round robin during the week before the playoffs on Friday and Finals will be held on Saturday.
The Arafura Games website has a full draw which you can find here.
So if you have some free time, come down and check out the Volleyball.
Each morning we will also broadcast on our facebook and twitter pages the times that the NT teams will be playing.
If you want to come down and support the NT side, then these are the times you will want to be down at the Marrara Indoor Stadium.
Sunday 9th
NT Men: 9 am and 12 noon
NT Women: 3pm
Monday 10th
NT Men: 9 am and 1:30pm
NT Women: 12 noon
Tuesday 11th
NT Men: 8pm
NT Women: 6:30pm
Wednesday 12th
NT Men: 6:30 pm
NT Women: 6:30 pm
Thursday 13th
NT Men: 6:30 pm
NT Women: 6:30 pm
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