Junior volleyball teams excel at North Island Championships
Posted on November 26, 2025
Following their success at the Auckland Junior Volleyball Championships, Macleans College’s junior volleyball teams competed in the North Island Junior Championships last week. This marked the school’s first-ever participation in this tournament.
In the boys’ competition, 54 teams from across the North Island, plus two teams from Australia, took part.
On the first day, Macleans College beat Hillcrest High School, Whakatāne High School and Botany Downs Secondary College, securing a place in the top 16. The next day, they faced Papatoetoe High School in a rematch of the Auckland final and won again. A subsequent victory against Onehunga High School qualified the team for the quarter-finals.
The quarter-final against One Tree Hill College was extremely close, with Macleans College ultimately winning 2-1 to reach the semi-final.
In the semi-final, the team faced Kew High School from East Melbourne, a top Australian school with a strong volleyball program of 38 teams, where volleyball is taught as a subject rather than just part of physical education. Teacher in Charge of Volleyball, Mr Becroft, described the match as one of the best schoolboy volleyball games he has seen in over 40 years. Macleans College narrowly lost the first set 25-23 after leading 23-22, with standout serving from Christian Gade (Kupe House). The second set was also tightly contested, but Kew High School ultimately prevailed.
Macleans College then played Tauranga Boys College for third place. The team won the first set convincingly, Tauranga Boys College took the second, and in the decisive third set, captain Matthew Bailey (Kupe) led by example, guiding Macleans College to a strong victory. After the tournament, both Matthew and Jake Ashley (Mansfield) were named in the tournament team.
The junior girls’ team also performed strongly, building on their third place finish in the Auckland championships. They narrowly missed out on the top 16 after a close loss to Western Heights High School. However, they won every subsequent game to claim Division Two, earning a medal. In the final, they defeated One Tree Hill College, the same team they had faced in the Auckland championships.
It was a highly successful tournament and four days the teams will never forget. The achievements were the result of two years of dedication by coaches Randy Jiang (Te Kanawa House 2014 - 2018), Tommy Tran and Kenneth Cher. Mr Becroft emphasised that such results come only with hard work and praised the mental and physical development of the players, describing it as a joy to witness.
