Girls Shield: Winners: Mount St. Michael Secondary School, Claremorris Runner Up: Gael Coláiste, Chill Dara
Primary Schools Finals 2007/08
The National Finals of the SpikeBall Primary School Competition took place on March 11th in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. SpikeBall is the Volleyball Association of Ireland’s adapted Volleyball game that has become hugely popular with both Primary and Post Primary Schools in introducing children to Volleyball. This being just the second year of formal competition at Primary Level saw not just an increase in schools participating in competition but also great progress was evident in both skill level and team play by all involved.
The road to competing in the National Finals involved qualification from County and Regional Finals that were held earlier in the year in three categories of competition, boys, girls and mixed. A total of 6 teams in each category of competition qualified from three regions, South, East and West Regions. With teams from all over the country taking part a very exciting day of competition was about to unfold. The format of the finals involved teams in each category playing in two pool rounds with the top four teams qualifying for semi final places. With all teams in contention for National titles the action was fast paced and the atmosphere in the hall electric from the very start.
In the girls competition there were teams from Kerry, Kildare, Galway, Laois, Louth and Tipperary battling it out for top honours. The Ardfert Smashers from Kerry, last years winners in the girls’ competition were back to defend their title and performed very well in the opening round of the competition taking top points. Ayle Koalas runners up to the Smashers in the Southern Region Finals in February also had a good start to the day finishing the first round with maximum points. In the second round of the morning Ardfert Smashers looked to be cruising to another victory when they were caught at the closing stages of the match by Galway team, the Loughrea Kangaroos who were improving steadily as the day progressed. However Ardfert had done enough at this stage to ensure a semi final place where their opponents were to be Ayle Koalas from Tipperary. Loughrea Kangaroos and Creagh Tigers also from Galway completed the other semi final line up. Taking an exit from the competition at the end of the second round were St Malachy’s Wallabies from Louth and The Rock Superstars from Laois. Despite not reaching the semi final stage they performed very well on the day. Both semi finals were exciting and closely contested matches, however only two teams could qualify for the final. In the first semi final The Loughrea Kangaroos just had the edge over the Creagh Tigers winning the game 25-22. Ayle Koalas put in a fantastic performance to out play last years champions Ardfert and book their place in the final. The Final was a fitting conclusion to an action packed competition with both teams pushing themselves to the limit. Ayle held their nerve and displaying great composure and skill they won the match 2 sets to 0 and with it their first National SpikeBall Title.
In the Mixed Competition the teams competing were from schools in Dublin, Kerry, Kildare, Galway, Mayo and Tipperary. The Ardfert Blockers from Kerry were again in this competition defending their National Title. As in the girls competition both Ardfert and Ayle teams dominated proceedings taking maximum points in the first round. Dublin team Castleknock Wildcats and Sallins Dynamos from Kildare failed in their attempt to reach the semi final stages but I’m sure will be back next year stronger than ever. The semi final stages pitched Ayle Spikers against Mayo team St Attractas Lions and Ardfert Smashers against Galway side St Augustine’s Eagles. After two thrilling semi finals Ayle Spikers and the Ardfert Blockers were successful in reaching the Final where another closey fought game ensued. The Ardfert Blockers drawing on all their experience from winning last years final began forcing the errors on their opponents with some strong attacking play. Ayle try as they might were unable to stay with the Kerry side and the Ardfert Blockers won the match 2 sets to 0 and successfully defended their Cup.
The boy’s competition had teams from Cork, Dublin Kerry, Galway, Laois and Roscommon. The Glenbeigh Warriors from Kerry and Creagh Sharks from Galway were top of their respective pools after the first round and continued their good form in the second round again with clean sheets. The Blue Blazers from Cork and Castleknock Diggers from Roscommon put in some great performances but were unsuccessful in reaching the semi final stages. The Rock Pumas from Laois were up against the might of Kerry, the Glenbeigh Warriors in the first semi final. Glenbeigh unbeaten all day were not about to slip up now and they booked their place in the final with an impressive display. Creagh Sharks took on Roscommon side Abbey Hitters in the second semi final. The Sharks also put in a powerful performance to win the semi final and set up a thrilling final against Glenbeigh. The final of the boys’ competition certainly didn’t disappoint with great skill and spirit evident in both teams. The first set was full of drama with each team playing at their very best and attacking the ball with great precision into their opponents’ court. Creagh Sharks just managed to win the 1st set on a very tight score line. The second set had all the drama and excitement of the first set and more. Glenbeigh Warriors had to fight very hard to stay in the match and their efforts paid off, they levelled the game 1 set all to force a third and deciding set to be played. The third set started with each team trading points very evenly however the Creagh Sharks began to pull away mid way through the set and with the Cup in their sights they stormed ahead and finished out the match 2 sets to one to claim the Boys Cup.
Congratulations to all the teams that participated in this years finals and who all contributed immensely to make this event so memorable. It was a great showcase for Junior Volleyball and we hope the start of a long involvement in the sport by all involved. A big Thank You to the Transition Year students from Presentation Secondary School in Clonmel who officiated all the matches on the day.
The National Finals of the SpikeBall Primary School Competition took place on March 11th in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. SpikeBall is the Volleyball Association of Ireland’s adapted Volleyball game that has become hugely popular with both Primary and Post Primary Schools in introducing children to Volleyball. This being just the second year of formal competition at Primary Level saw not just an increase in schools participating in competition but also great progress was evident in both skill level and team play by all involved. 
The road to competing in the National Finals involved qualification from County and Regional Finals that were held earlier in the year in three categories of competition, boys, girls and mixed. A total of 6 teams in each category of competition qualified from three regions, South, East and West Regions. With teams from all over the country taking part a very exciting day of competition was about to unfold. The format of the finals involved teams in each category playing in two pool rounds with the top four teams qualifying for semi final places. With all teams in contention for National titles the action was fast paced and the atmosphere in the hall electric from the very start.
In the girls competition there were teams from Kerry, Kildare, Galway, Laois, Louth and Tipperary battling it out for top honours. The Ardfert Smashers from Kerry, last years winners in the girls’ competition were back to defend their title and performed very well in the opening round of the competition taking top points. Ayle Koalas runners up to the Smashers in the Southern Region Finals in February also had a good start to the day finishing the first round with maximum points. In the second round of the morning Ardfert Smashers looked to be cruising to another victory when they were caught at the closing stages of the match by Galway team, the Loughrea Kangaroos who were improving steadily as the day progressed. However Ardfert had done enough at this stage to ensure a semi final place where their opponents were to be Ayle Koalas from Tipperary. Loughrea Kangaroos and Creagh Tigers also from Galway completed the other semi final line up. Taking an exit from the competition at the end of the second round were St Malachy’s Wallabies from Louth and The Rock Superstars from Laois. Despite not reaching the semi final stage they performed very well on the day. Both semi finals were exciting and closely contested matches, however only two teams could qualify for the final. In the first semi final The Loughrea Kangaroos just had the edge over the Creagh Tigers winning the game 25-22. Ayle Koalas put in a fantastic performance to out play last years champions Ardfert and book their place in the final. The Final was a fitting conclusion to an action packed competition with both teams pushing themselves to the limit. Ayle held their nerve and displaying great composure and skill they won the match 2 sets to 0 and with it their first National SpikeBall Title.
In the Mixed Competition the teams competing were from schools in Dublin, Kerry, Kildare, Galway, Mayo and Tipperary. The Ardfert Blockers from Kerry were again in this competition defending their National Title. As in the girls competition both Ardfert and Ayle teams dominated proceedings taking maximum points in the first round. Dublin team Castleknock Wildcats and Sallins Dynamos from Kildare failed in their attempt to reach the semi final stages but I’m sure will be back next year stronger than ever. The semi final stages pitched Ayle Spikers against Mayo team St Attractas Lions and Ardfert Smashers against Galway side St Augustine’s Eagles. After two thrilling semi finals Ayle Spikers and the Ardfert Blockers were successful in reaching the Final where another closey fought game ensued. The Ardfert Blockers drawing on all their experience from winning last years final began forcing the errors on their opponents with some strong attacking play. Ayle try as they might were unable to stay with the Kerry side and the Ardfert Blockers won the match 2 sets to 0 and successfully defended their Cup. 
The final of the boys’ competition certainly didn’t disappoint with great skill and spirit evident in both teams. The first set was full of drama with each team playing at their very best and attacking the ball with great precision into their opponents’ court. Creagh Sharks just managed to win the 1st set on a very tight score line. The second set had all the drama and excitement of the first set and more. Glenbeigh Warriors had to fight very hard to stay in the match and their efforts paid off, they levelled the game 1 set all to force a third and deciding set to be played. The third set started with each team trading points very evenly however the Creagh Sharks began to pull away mid way through the set and with the Cup in their sights they stormed ahead and finished out the match 2 sets to one to claim the Boys Cup. 
Congratulations to all the teams that participated in this years finals and who all contributed immensely to make this event so memorable. It was a great showcase for Junior Volleyball and we hope the start of a long involvement in the sport by all involved. A big Thank You to the Transition Year students from Presentation Secondary School in Clonmel who officiated all the matches on the day.