Having qualified from the Regional Finals in Kilkenny, our Volleyball team headed to UL Sports Arena for the All Ireland Finals last Friday. It was amazing to be in one of the finest sports arenas in the country and a great experience for the 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. Then followed the playing of our National Anthem and the little hairs at the back of our necks tingled with excitement and pride.
Presentation Pythons were in Group A, along with 7 other teams from around Ireland – Gneeveguilla (Kerry), Ovens NS (Cork), St. Ita’s (Loughrea, Galway) and St. Killian’s (Cavan), St. Joseph’s (Templemore) and Lough Cutra (Gort, Galway).
The games came thick and fast with very little time to catch your breath. Games lasted 8 minutes and we began by playing three games in a row! After the six group games were played, we found ourselves in the wonderful position of top of the group and an All Ireland Quarter Final against Brierhill (Galway City) beckoned.
The girls in wine easily dispatched with Brierhill on a score-line of 21 to 6 to storm into a Semi Final against the school who defeated us in the final in 2023, St. Killian’s Cavan.
At the start of the day it was our serve that was causing some concern, however in this game not one serve was missed! Lilly, Ava, Milly, Emma, Julietta, Ailish, Aoife and Eva all landed their serves with confidence. Again it was first to 21 and again Presentation Pythons met that target and some! 21 to 12 and pure joy exploded as the girls realised they were through to an All Ireland Final and guarnteed a medal!
In the final we played Dunamaggin from Kilkenny. Dunamaggin had topped their group with ease and were just too good on the day for our girls to deal with. It is always disappointing to lose a final but the overwhelming feeling at the final whistle was one of pride.
These girls had first qualified to make it to UL, they then topped their group and battled all the way to an All Ireland Final – an amazing achievement for a school that play volleyball for fun for a few weeks in the year.
Huge thanks must go to the coaches Caroline Ryan, Ciara Fanning and Kieran Healy. These teachers spent their afternoons and lunchtimes preparing the teams and, with great care, supported the girls throughout the competition.
