Volleyball
21 May, 2025
Sleeping giant awakens
The sleeping giant of Volleyball Horsham’s A grade competition has awoken, with Rangers making a statement with a strong win over Heidelberg, while Tsunami showed they are improving with an upset win over Hellenic Nuggets.
Superbly led by the big-hitting Jack Hannan, Rangers bounced back from a close first-set loss to hold their nerve to take the second before keeping their opponents at bay to win the third and claim third spot on the ladder.
As good as Hannan was in attack, it was his fierce determination to keep the ball alive that helped his team to take the win, with some great floor defence and precise passing.
But Hannan wasn’t alone in Rangers' win, with Oscar Jackman finding good connection with setter Sammy Peachey and hitting plenty of winners through the middle.
The high-leaping youngster has added another string to his bow with the work he is doing with Peachey in his middle attacking role, not being solely reliant on his quick attacks, but adding a subtle change in the height of his sets to become more effective.
The win for Rangers has moved them to within touching distance of the double chance, but they will need to keep the momentum going if that is to be the next goal on their radar.
Tsunami set the tone for a night of upsets when they proved too strong for Hellenic Nuggets, on the back of a change of attack that left Nuggets with no answers.
Captain Tyler Snowden gave more responsibility to his young setters, with Jiedan Young and Joel Brilliant sharing the setting duties, which proved the difference in the end.
“We were always in our games, winning sets, but the shift of Jiedan to setting, after training really strongly earlier in the week, certainly helped us as he found good connection with Clay Heard through the middle, which gave Clay great confidence,” Snowden said.
“Heardy’s blocking and defence then improved as the game wore on, which kept us in the game, and after dropping the second set, the team responded really well.”
The win moved Tsunami to within one point of fourth-placed Heidelberg on the ladder and has made the final three weeks of the season most intriguing, as to who will take the final spot in the finals.
In B grade, Wilson remain undefeated on top of the ladder after coming from behind to defeat Filos.
Lewis Dacre and Pat Pignataro were strong for Wilson, while Jhon Michael Donaire kept Filos in the game.
Steph Barber’s Can I Dig It kept their finals hopes alive with a
confidence-boosting win over Hurricanes.
The win was their second in a row as they find their groove in the run home to the finals, with only three points separating fourth-placed Hurricanes, fifth-placed Phantom Masters and sixth-placed Can I Dig It with three rounds remaining.
There is a three-way race for third and fourth on the C grade ladder after WLC Tigers scored a nail-biting win over The Dig Dogs, while bottom of the table Filos upset Stars.
The Dig Dogs sit third percentage ahead of WLC Tigers while Stars are knocking on the door of the top four, one point adrift in fifth spot.
With three weeks left in the season, the competitions are hotting up, making for an intriguing race to the finals.