Volleyball has taken off as a sport to watch in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region with a record seven teams entered into the Sydney Volleyball League (SVL).
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This Sunday at Olympic Park, four of our local teams will be vying for a medal in the final week of the competition.
The SVL is a 16 week tournament representing the highest level of volleyball opens competition in NSW. It is divided into six divisions with 8-14 teams per division depending on the level.
To be able to qualify for this competition, teams have to have achieved a good result in the previous years competition with stronger teams moving up grades while others are relegated to lower divisions.
It has been an up and down season for the Illawarra Premier Mens side who juggled injuries and COVID-19 absences to start the year.
The team was able to rebound well in the round robin stages however securing four 3:0 win against seeds two, three, four and eight.
This streak was able to bring the side to the finals in the tightest of point differentials as they took on a strong University of Technology (UTS) side who had not lost a finals match in 10 years on top of only dropping one game the entire year.
It was Illawarra who wanted it more though, with a strong support team behind them the side fought hard to take the victory 3:1.
The finish was a historic one for Illawarra who will now set their sights on the gold medal match against the University of Sydney later this week.
The division two men's team will be playing for a bronze medal after what has been a strong season of results. The nucleus of the team have been together for four years now, with this synergy guiding the side to an array of tough victories, guided by coaches Fillipe Ramos and Pat Brienen.
For the division two women, their first season together has been a revelation as they'll be competing for the gold medal.
With a mixture of experienced first grade veterans and a splash of junior state representatives, this team has earned themselves a promotion to division one next year, with the guidance of Paolo Fassone and Sean Thorpe spearheading the coaching side.
The reserve grade women achieved their best results in recent history as they will also be competing for the gold medal along with a promotion to the Premier Division next year. A lot of the credit goes to the job Faruk Kaymak has done in the role of head coach.
"Illawarra are very lucky to have great depth in their coaches, trainers players which has contributed to the clubs strong position," Head of Representative and Beach Programs at Illawarra Volleyball, Nic Thorpe said.
"The greatest achievement of the club however has been the culture of the teams who have built a reputation of good sportsmanship and a genuine love for the game."
"Through our amazing results as a club Illawarra is in a strong position to take out the club championship which is an award given to the club with the strongest results across all divisions which is a huge achievement for the only team not based in Sydney".
Illawarra teams with members from Ulladulla to Wollongong will be looking to bring their best this weekend to close out the season strong and bring a bunch of gold back to Illawarra.
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