Huon Gulf’s Black Arrows proud of maiden appearance at champs

By PARKER TAMBUA
BLACK Arrows women’s volleyball team, from the Huon Gulf Volleyball Association, had an exceptional maiden national club championships appearance when they reached the final against Raukele Dolphins, of Fairfax Volleyball Association, in Port Moresby on Sunday.
Despite going down to the much experienced Raukele side, the young premiers from Lae were proud of their efforts.
Arrows coach Jason Vanua was full of praises for his players, saying they were courageous throughout the championships despite wearing the ‘underdogs’ tag.
“It’s our first time to compete at the championships and we came in as underdogs but we proved our worth and went all the way to the grand final,” Vanua said.
“Raukele are a much experienced side, dominated with national representative players.
“We were punching above our weight.
“But we did well to reach the final which is a good achievement for us.
“We are only a young team and being part of such tournaments gives us the exposure that we need.”
The Huon Gulf Volleyball Association had two teams who represented them with Black Arrows in the women’s division and Scorpions in the men’s category.
Scorpions did not do well enough to reach the playoffs compared with Black Arrows.
Vanua is certain that Morobe has a lot to offer in terms of volleyball in the country.
But he said lack of exposure was one factor that hindered their progress. “All we need is to mould the players, getting them exposed to more national championships and other tournaments,” Vanua said.