Ash Bolt
Six of the region’s best young beach volleyballers will have their chance to show their skills on the national stage later this month while representing the state.
Maddie Randall, Olivia Jury, Ellie-May Jury, Hannah Mustovic, Ella Mustovic and Noah Tucker, who have all come through Vic Beach Geelong development program, have been selected to represent Victoria at the Australian Youth Beach Volleyball Championships in Coolangatta, Queensland from March 28 to 31.
The teenagers all attended three tryouts in Melbourne in November and December, before the final squads were announced last month.
Vic Beach Geelong coach Greg Jury said it was a major achievement for the players.
“This is a huge achievement – it’s the pinnacle of the sport for juniors,” he said.
“The Nationals are the highest level you can play at in Australia, and then the next step up is World Championships.
“Only two or three or three teams at each age group [from Victoria] get picked to go to Nationals, so to have six players from Geelong picked, that’s a testament to how good they are.
“I’m really happy with the standard they’re playing at and while this year will be the first for a while that all states are competing because of the COVID, I think they’re going to be very, very competitive.”
For Ella, it will be her fourth and final time competing at the championships and has previously picked up silver and bronze medals.
“It’s really exciting [to be] competing for your state and getting to play against other people who are playing at a high level, because there’s a certain level that you can hit as a junior in Victoria and I feel playing against other states can really push you,” she said.
“There are lots of learning curves from it.
“From start to finish every single game you’re learning so much about yourself as a player, the team that you’re playing against and your team.
“And getting to work with different coaches you get new perspectives on the game, so it’s a great experience to learn from.”
Jury said another player to watch was Hannah Mustovic, who was looking to win a second gold medal with her partner Hilary Hannagan from Warrnambool.
“They’re going to be very tough to beat and it’s nice to see that regional connection and having two very high-quality athletes from Surf Coast and south-west,” he said.
Jury said it was also a proud achievement for Vic Beach Geelong’s development program, which has sent many players to Nationals over the past 12 years.
