WOLMER’S Boys’ School and Wolmer’s High School for Girls defeated Camperdown High to capture the 2018 Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Kingston and St Andrew Under-19 High Schools Volleyball Championships boys’ and girls’ titles, respectively, in finals played at The University of the West Indies Gymnasium, Mona Bowl, last week Tuesday.

Wolmer’s Girls’ retained their title with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Camperdown High, while the boys had to come from 0-2 down to clinch an exciting 3-2 victory over defending champions Camperdown in a thrilling five-setter.

For winning both titles, Wolmer’s have qualified for the All-Island National Finals, while Camperdown will be involved in play-off with other schools for a place in the National Finals.

Wolmer’s Boys’ Captain Clifton Clarke played for Camperdown High School last year when they won the title before transfering to the National Heroes Circle-based team.

Winning coach Oneil Ebanks said he was very happy to have taken both the boys and girls singles, and that it was also a great achievement by the players.

“With Wolmer’s trailing 0-2 after two sets, I told the players that they should believe in their school motto and themselves, and do what they were taught in training, as they have the ability to score points,” Ebanks said.

He said he was also pleased with the way the players performed. “I only had two experienced players in the team and the others were playing volleyball for this first time this season in a competitive competition.”

“Wolmer’s has won the Kingston and St Andrew Championship girls title for the past 17 consecutive years and has won it overall on 28 occasions, while they won the National title 24 times and will be hunting their 25th lien,” he added.

Ebanks said he was looking for a better performance from the Camerdown girls, but said that his players applied the pressure from the first set to come out with an easy win.

Camperdown’s coach, Allan Levy, said of the team’s defeat, especially in the boys final, that Wolmer’s wanted the title more than his players, and that he lifted his hat to them for a fine victory.

“Despite Wolmer’s trailed 0-2, they managed to win the third set as our services and passes were a bit off and they started to lapse a bit. We should have clinched the fourth set and the match 3-1 with the scores at 24-23 in favour of Camperdown, but they lost their service as our opponents tied the scores at 24-24 and went on to win the next two points and the set,” Levy lamented.

He said Wolmer’s then dominated the fifth and final set, but it was still close at 8-4 to the winners. “The players just could not regain their composure and from then onwards our opponents raced away to win the set and clinch the match.”

Levy said Camperdown girls were hampered with two of the team’s best players, as well as a few others sustained injuries in the semi-finals played the previous day. “They could not execute much as they were not at their best as they could not move well, and Wolmer’s got the better of the team and won easily,” he added.

The Camperdown coach said the team will go back into training and will be looking to qualify for the National Finals.

Meanwhile, in the boys’ finals, Camperdown won a close first set 25-23 after they were locked at 23-23, then gained a 2-0 lead by winning the second set comfortably 25-14.

With one set away from clinching the match, Wolmer’s came back strongly in the third set tied 8-8 before taking the lead to win 25-17. The fourth set was an exciting affair with Wolmer’s leading 17-12, but Camperdown rallied nicely to place themselves into winning contention at 24-23.

However, Camperdown lost their next service to give Wolmer’s the point and even the scores at 24-24, as at this stage it was anybody’s game. Wolmer’s won the next two points on their serve to win 26-24.

Meanwhile, in the Central Zone finals, St Jago High defeated St Catherine High 3-1 with scores of 25-23, 25-14, 19-25, 25-22 to retain girls’ championship title.

St Jago High boys remained Central Zone champions when they defeated Oracabessa High 3-0 with scores of 25-18, 26-24, and 25-23. Both teams have qualified for the National Finals, while the losers will compete in a play-off for places in the Nationals.

Frome Technical High girls are the new Western Zone champions as they defeated Manning’s 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 26-24) and secured an automatic spot in the National Finals.

Manning’s boys turned the table on Frome when they won 3-1 (25-11, 23-25, 25-17, 25-13) to retain their Western Zone championship.