Junior women sweep series

Junior women sweep series

The New Zealand Under 20's side has completed a 5-0 series sweep over Australia - the result is testament to the preparation of the playing and coaching teams being put into action.

"The biggest thing that struck us was the care they have for each other as teammates. We're grateful that we finished the series with not only improved technical and mental skills, but an understanding of the real importance of having a team culture which can actually carry you if you're looking after your teammates," said coach Kim Smith.

It was such an amazing experience," said Pippa Henderson. "This was our first time to do this a full team, it was great to make and build on our connections on and off the court in the group."

The team closed out the series without dropping a match, winning 3-2 and 3-2 in Tauranga, clinched the series with a 3-1 win in Cambridge, followed by 3-2 and 3-0 wins in Hamilton and Auckland.
"What we took from the series was just how important processes are. We ran the first trials in October 2020, so this series comes at the end of a two year plan, there's been a whole lot of work gone into pulling this together, so by the time we played Australia, it was more about having fun putting it on the court, which was awesome," said Kim Smith.

"A lot of the systems were in place to let the coaches and players concentrate on the matches, which was awesome, it gave us time to watch back the videos and give the players the feedback they needed."
The two sides were able to mix together and learn from each other, as well as make friendships during their time on the road together.

"We were friends with the Australian team outside the games - we didn't know anything about them before the series - we knew they'd be tough, but off the court they were really nice," said Pippa Henderson.
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Kim Smith expects to see the team build on their experience of this tour and take the next steps in their Volleyball careers.

"I expect to see many of the players feature in the National Volleyball League draft, while some will be looking at American University Scholarships as their next move, not to mention the Under 23 side. This was a really rewarding tour after so long without being able to play international volleyball.
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