Shyloh Udomsak and Katie Moors – Year 9 Bronze medallists.

Westlake Girls top four junior teams embraced the popular but unpractised sport of beach volleyball for the North Island Secondary Schools Championship on Saturday, 25 November, at the Harbour Beach Volleyball Centre in Mairangi Bay. 

With 26 teams competing in the Year 10 competition and 12 teams in the Year 9 event, the players transferred their indoor skills to the sand for the day. The Year 9 teams of Katie Moors/Shyloh Udomsak and Michelle Catterall/Rori Seymour grappled with the slightly different rules of the game, such as WHEN and HOW to set the ball on the sand. Despite the challenges, Moors and Udomsak impressed everyone by topping their Year 9 pool and winning another bronze medal to accompany the one they won the day before at the North Island Indoor Champs. Westlake’s Year 10 teams of Mari-Lyn Connelly/Leila Halaifonua and Brydie McMillan/Danni Button had a more challenging time facing experienced beach players on the court. 

Two days later, the teams returned for the Auckland Secondary Junior Championship. The Year 10 combination of Aaliyah Sina’au and Brydie McMillan made it into the semifinals, where they met Kerikeri High School, who beat them 2-0. An hour later, they met Long Bay in the bronze medal playoff and won in three sets, 2-1.

Brydie McMillan and Aaliyah Sina’au