Country championships silver medallists 'ready to go up to div one now'

South West Pirates coach Craig Gibbs said the Warrnambool Volleyball Association side was ready to mix it with the best at the annual tournament.

"We'll aim for div one next year now," he said.

"It's been 25 years this weekend since we won division one. I don't think we've played (that grade) in quite a few years but this team is ready to go up to div one now."

The Pirates - consisting Tristan Gibbs, Brandon Gibbs, Joseph Ahearn, Clinton DeMartin, Lucas Byron, Sebastian Wake, James Ross and Kam Bakeikorcau - played with cohesion across the three-day tournament after a dedicated preparation.

They fell short in the 2024 division two gold medal match against Macedon in Gippsland on Monday, June 10, losing in four sets (25-14, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18).

Gibbs said the Pirates worked hard to make the decider and would heed lessons from the defeat, particularly about harnessing nervous energy.

"It was great to win a silver medal but it would've been nice to win gold after we got silver last year," he said.

"We just played really well as a team. We've been training together as a team for the last six or seven months which really helped.

"When we got on the court, it sort of fell into place. We had five players under 21. Everyone really played their role well, just the nerves in the final seemed to get the better of them."

It came after they worked diligently to make the gold medal match.

"We came second in our pool and we had to play in a quarter-final which we only just won, we went into a semi-final which we only just won," Gibbs said.

"It was a fairly tough road to get in there. We did it the hard way."

South West Pirates also medalled in the women's division one competition, taking bronze after a straight sets win against Bendigo (25-16, 25-22, 25-16).

Setter Destiny Kelly said it was a special achievement for Warrnambool after pouring in countless hours of dedication to compete in the top tier.

"It is huge. It has taken a lot of years for us to get back up there, a lot of development with the young girls," she said.

"Everyone has been super committed and really put in the effort which has just been amazing. Everyone has come on in leaps and bounds and we're getting better together as a team."

Kelly said the Pirates loved challenging themselves.

"The competition was super close. It actually came down to 1.4 per cent about whether we got into the grand final or not," she said.

"It's always so much fun playing the Bendigo and Horsham girls because we see them so often and we're good friends with them.

"(Winning bronze in straight sets) we were really happy with, I think it just came down to who was the most tired after a three-day tournament. The girls put in the effort, everyone backed each other up."

The Philippa Hannagan-coached team included pass hitter Gabby Lougheed who was named in the competition's all-star seven and most valuable player across the women's division one series.

Kelly, Matilda Kealley, Bella Van Vugt, Shatha Al-Huneidi, Rosie Payne and Geena Van Vugt made up the medal-winning squad.

The Hannagan sisters - Emma and Hillary - were absent due to other commitments.

The Pirates finished fifth in the women's division three section and the division three men made the quarter-final stage.