Being a spectator of the annual Volleyball Intervarsities meant stepping into a lively atmosphere of music, chants, and spirited competition, held this year at our very own Trinity Sports Centre. Team after team stepped onto the court, fighting to justify an entire season of hard work and training in this three day tournament. But in case any of you missed this weekend’s athletic activities, Sports Editors Michaella Van Zutphen and Roan MacArdle have captured the main highlights of the event for you.
Women’s Volleyball — Trinity vs DCU
Despite entering into the tournament as a popular favourite, the women’s team fell just short in their semi-final. Sophia Bell De Miguel talks about her experience playing for the Trinity volleyball team on Saturday, and their “shocking” loss against UCD. Despite the upset, De Miguel described it as being a “well-fought” game of three sets, where Trinity only lost by two points — the absolute minimum point-differential possible. While partly attributing this loss to the mistakes made by the Trinity team and the “pressure and stress” of attempting to hold their position as reigning champions, De Miguel notes that “UCD played really well, putting up a good fight, especially defensively”. The Trinity team can’t be too upset with this loss, as UCD went on to win the tournament with a swift victory over UCC, prevailing by two sets to none.
On Sunday, Trinity was pitted up against DCU, with both teams fighting to secure a third-place finish in the tournament. Despite the disappointment of losing out on a spot in the final, the home side began with an excellent first set, dominating the opposition early on. Although DCU was able to fend off the first few set points, an impressive smash from number 12 turned out to be more than the DCU defense could handle, earning Trinity the first set in the match. The second set was a far closer affair, ultimately finishing 25–20 in Trinity’s favour, yet proving to be more challenging than expected. While it may fall slightly short than what the women’s team hoped for going into the weekend, they can nevertheless be satisfied with an extremely impressive showing to close out the tournament.
Men’s Volleyball Final — Trinity vs TUD
The men’s team was thrilled to stake their place in the final of the competition, yet their road leading up to this point was similarly tough-fought. After vanquishing RCSI by two sets to zero, they faced a far more difficult semi-final against UCD. According to libero Paul Chester, the home side “beat a solid TUD team 2–1” in an extremely close match that finished 15–13 in Trinity’s favour come the final set.
Speaking to the University Times in a pre-match interview, Aidan Gaffney underscored that Trinity’s “main focus is to keep our serves aggressive”. Gaffney was quick to mention the team’s undefeated season, stating that “every time we slow the game down to where we want it to be, no one’s been able to stop us”. Despite last year’s loss to DCU in the Intervarsity final, and the fact that Trinity has yet to face them this season, Gaffrey doesn’t seem to let this faze him, arguing that the reason for last year’s loss was the fact that the team was “fighting through a lot of injuries”. There would be “no excuses” for a loss this time around, however.
The first set of the final saw Trinity pull ahead in the early stages, at one point leading 12–5. However, DCU managed to bring the tie back to a far more closely contested 12–10. The home team’s worries would be alleviated soon after, eventually taking the set by 25 points to 19 following an excellent opening display from both sides. The second set was equally close, with the score tied at 11–11 come the first time out, until DCU pulled away at the end of the set, winning 25–21.
Much to the disappointment of the home crowd, DCU’s momentum would carry them to victory, beating TCD 15–12 in the third and final set. The away side were deserved victors, with captain Mark Bumatay thanking Trinity Sport for hosting the event, which he described as a great success. While the two teams will be disappointed to come up ever so slightly short in the end, their individual showings and overall success of the event speaks volumes about the quality of volleyball in the college.
