Volleyballers take high shots For first time Cairns team representing city at junior championships in Sydney this weekend

l VOLLEYBALL

| Isabella Guzman Gonzalez

IN a first, a Cairns Volleyball representative under-23 team will take on state teams and future Olympians at the Australian Junior Volleyball Championships in Sydney from July 7-9.

The junior championships gather the best under-19 and under-23 players from across Australia and overseas to compete and offer assisted pathways for young players.

Due to an expansion in the program to include teams from any affiliated state, club, association or training academy, Cairns Volleyball will send its first-ever under-23 team to compete against state teams across Australia and represent Cairns on the national stage.

The team of nine made up by Liam Prestipino, Campbell Rick, Johle Vincent, Riley Byrne, Rhys Dowse, Wesley Yow, Char Benedictino, Dylan Cheng and Cameron Devries and coached by long time Cairns Volleyball president and junior development coach Brian Geck are excited to take on the challenge and use the competition as a platform into professional playing.

Team captain Char Benedicto, 22, said the team was excited to take on the challenge.

“Our goal is to win, we have that confidence,” he said.