Following the success of the first U18 National Boys Blitz, VLY run a second blitz, this time in the East side of the country. Teams from Cork, Galway, Dublin and Laois counties competed in Maynooth yesterday, providing us with an amazing day of volleyball.
In the morning, each team played against each other in a single round-robin format. The level was very competitive resulting in many matches going down to the final few points . The runners up from the previous blitz, Portlaoise Pandas, played a solid volleyball throughout the morning session. This positioned them at the top of the ranking, heading into the knockout phase. New to the blitz this month was a young team from Balbriggan VC coached by Dave Dalton. The players displayed some nice volleyball skills and a never give up attitude meaning all their games would close out tightly. Cork Volleyball Academy showed why their youth development is going from strength to strength, registering once again two teams in the competition. CVA 1 qualified to knockouts as second place in the ranking (defeated only by Portlaoise in a tight 25-23 set), while CVA 2 struggled to find their consistency we had seen previously in Blitz 1 and this resulted in a fourth place finish. 3rd place was completed by Galway Volleyball Club, who started slowly, but improved their performance match by match.
The quarter-finals saw Galway VC and CVA 1 progressing at the expense of CVA 2 and Balbriggan VC. As Galway VC grew in confidence during the day, in the semi-finals the team was able to defeat coach Barros’s team 2-0 sets. The Portlaoise team went directly to semis thanks to their 1st place in the ranking, joined by CVA 2 as best loser of the quarters. Portlaoise Pandas continued with their fine run of wins and overcame CVA 2 to set up their second successive final in the U18 blitzes.
During the final match, both teams brought their best skills to the court: accurate service, powerful spiking, efficient blocking and an overall high level of play. The first two sets were spilt evenly, leading to a tense third set. Portlaoise on the day just couldn’t find a way to defend against the strong Galway’s service. Galway VC finally won out 15-5. GVC now join St Brigid’s College as blitz winners leading into our third and final event.
The final U18 boys event (Cup Final) is scheduled for April 10th. At this event, we will crown the 2021/22 Ireland U18 Boys champions. Follow VLY social media for more details.
