By David Berry

The medal collection is now complete for Volleyball Horsham’s under-17 girls’ team, after claiming gold at the Junior Country Championships in Horsham at the weekend.

The team has been most consistent over the past three years, taking silver in 2024 and bronze in 2025. 

That elusive gold came in nail-biting circumstances against a Sunraysia team that refused to yield, pushing the final to five sets, despite dropping the first two.

Coach Molly Carter was ecstatic after the win.

“There was no specific instruction to the team in the break between the fourth and fifth sets, just to reset and start again,” she said.

“Then Amelia Van Buuren put her Supergirl cape on and said ‘leave it to me girls’ as she reeled off her best 10 serves to blow the Sunraysia team off the court, setting up a 10-point lead that her opposition couldn’t bridge.”

The team has established itself as one of the best junior teams in Victorian volleyball, as apart from three successive country championship medals, they have also claimed a silver and gold at the Volleyball Victorian Junior Open and qualified for state finals at SSV level.

The medal haul for Volleyball Horsham totalled three with an under-15 girls’ team taking a silver, when they went down to Geelong in their gold medal match, and an under-17 boys’ team who also took a silver after proving no match for Sunraysia in their gold medal match.

To top off a great weekend, Under-17 All Star Seven honours were awarded to Amelia Van Buuren as best setter and Drew Armstrong best libero, with Bonnie Grieger and Victoria Brown included in the seven.

James Johns made it three successive All-Star selections when he was included in the under-19 boys seven, Kyle Van As and Bentley Pendlebury in the under-17 and Charlotte Kelly in the under-15 girls.

The tournament bought 10 of the 17 regional associations together to showcase the development each had put into their juniors, at under 19, 17 and 15 level.

Horsham’s basketball stadium and St Brigid’s College were buzzing with activity for three days, with rivalries on display inside the court, but more importantly great friendships and camaraderie off the court as teams got around each other, cheering them on and barracking hard for their association.

Volleyball Horsham vice-president Laelah Robertson said she had never seen such an amazing show of team spirit.

“The boys’ under-19 gold medal match had the basketball stadium grandstand full with standing room only around it,” she said.

“The atmosphere was out of this world, and it made us so proud to see our sport so well supported.

“We can’t wait for next year when we host this event, because we know it can get bigger.”

Despite all the scenes of happiness and joy emanating throughout the stadium, everything was put back into perspective within 24 hours, as sadness enveloped the volleyball community when a family travelling home was involved in a fatal car accident.

Latrobe Valley lost one of their own when Tenesha Fieldsend succumbed to her injuries sustained in the accident and passed away, surrounded by her family.

In a show of how strong the bond is within country volleyball, Horsham team captain Serena Johns reached out to the captain of the Latrobe Valley under-17 team offering her condolences and receiving the following response: “Thank you for your heartfelt message and Tenesha loved playing against Horsham and appreciated the friendly faces.”

Robertson offered kind words to the family and Latrobe Valley volleyball community.

“To have shared our courts, our community and our weekend with Tenesha is something we will remember, and our thoughts are with everyone who had the privilege of knowing her,” she said.

“We hope the memories shared through volleyball and the time spent together on and off the court bring some comfort to those who knew and loved her.”

Volleyball Horsham will dedicate the Big Smash ’26 on Sunday, October 18 to Tenesha as the association does its bit to support her family.

The entire September 30, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!