Having won the Regional Finals in Kilkenny, our Volleyball team heading to UL Sports Arena for the All Ireland Finals recently. It was amazing to be in one of the finest sports arenas in the country and a great experience for the ten girls.
The day began with a meeting of all the teams from around Ireland who were there to compete for the title of All Ireland Champions.
The girls were in Group A, along with Aghada NS (Cork), St. Ita’s (Galway) and St. Killian’s (Cavan).
The group games were all close encounters. The girls lost their first game to St. Killian’s, but recovered well to win the next two group games and finish in second place in the group, giving them a place in the All Ireland Quarter Final against Holy Trinity NS (Tipperary South).
On the way home on the bus the girls were asked to share their highlight of the day. For some it was standing for the National Anthem but for most it was the Quarter Final game against Holy Trinity!! This game went right to the wire!
Presentation PS started strong and at one stage in the game led by 8 points. Holy Trinity then found their groove and began to eat into that lead bit by bit. With 20 seconds left on the clock, the gap was down to 2 pints! Holy Trinty then scored directly from their serve to leave the bare minimum between and teams and momentum was certainly with the girls in blue.
With only 5 ceonds remaining, Holy Trinity served…Ellie managed a great volley before Nicole pulled a top class dig from the locker! The ball landed inside the back right hand corner to hand the girls in wine a wonderful victorty which propelled them into an All Ireland Semi Final against Aghada from East Cork.
The semi final was a much calmer affair as the girls powered to a 8 point victory and were now in the All Ireland Final!! Here they would play the only team to have beaten them this year – St. Killian’s from Cavan. Their was great excitment as the girls prepared for the final.
Unfortunately, St. Killian’s proved too strong in the final, and were clearly the better team on the day. While disappointed, the girls felt proud to have reached the All Ireland Final and to represent their school, families and county proud on a national stage. The team wre presented with their runner up medals and headed to Burger King!
