’91 Australian Junior Boys v New Zealand
‘Murray Mansfield’ Trans Tasman Cup

Match 4 – 01-10-09
AUS def NZL 3:1 (25-18, 24-26, 25-16, 25-20)

AUS Starting Line-up (and points scored): Moeller (5), Douglas-Powell (7), Cook (9), Lillywhite (15), Lowe (1), Winzar (12), McEwen (libero)
Substitutes: L. Hill © (10), Bell (0), Clewes (DNP), Simmonds (DNP)

Both teams made the short trip across to Hamilton today on what was also the first day of the tour without persistent rain. After settling into their new surroundings the team reviewed video from their previous match to address key areas which required attention. With everyone clearly working towards the same goal, the Australians were quietly confident about the upcoming match, with a strong “team” feeling throughout their full preparations and warmup.

Not even an intense Haka performed by the New Zealand players could interrupt the Aussies focus, as they started the better of the two teams, out to an 8-4 lead at the first technical. Lillywhite was dominant on serve as he reeled off five serves in a row, each restricting the Kiwis to one option. This sustained service pressure resulted in one kill block to Winzar and an easy transition kill to Lowe as the lead was pushed out to 12-4. It was consecutive kills to Lillywhite (one on sideout, the second on transition) that pushed the teams to the second technical timeout, Australia holding onto their eight point lead. Sadly a lapse in concentration saw the Kiwis bridge the gap, forcing Australia to use both timeouts as the scores were tied at 17-17. Once the team settled and refocused on their key tasks, the set was quickly over as Lillywhite killed three times on attack from the backrow in addition to four consecutive errors by New Zealand. The set finished when a Lillywhite serve caught the net and dropped in front of the attack line for an ace, 25-18.

Australia had the slight advantage early in the second set, 8-6 after L. Hill killed twice on sideout as well as scoring an ace. Although Cook kill blocked twice in succession, Australia trailed 15-16 at the second technical timeout, due largely to some strong play by New Zealand. A contested call at 20-18 allowed the Kiwis back into the set, just as Australia were looking to pull away. Unfortunately this led to a quick turnaround to see the team trail 20-21. The Australians managed to slow their oppositions momentum, however the damage had been done as the Kiwis took the set with their second set point, 24-26.

A refocused Australian outfit retook the court in the third set, Douglas-Powell made excellent position on block to shut-out the main Kiwi attacker from the previous set; and when Moeller aced on serve, the Aussies had edged out to a 3-1 lead. Another ace soon after to Douglas-Powell saw Australia enter the first technical at 8-5. A lead that continued to grow as all the Australians found the floor on attack, 16-9. Moellers third setter tip for the match followed by a kill block only increased the margin, the set effectively over at 20-11. Australia siding out to take a 2-1 set lead, 25-16.

Although Lillywhite again attacked well at the beginning of the set, New Zealand held the small advantage 6-8 as the Australian pass faltered – allowing two direct points. Winzar completely swung the momentum around halfway through the set, taking the team from 11-14 to 16-15 at the second technical when he blocked twice in a row. A third block coming out of the technical, followed soon after by a great quick attack over a mis-timed block saw the Australians in front 18-16. Although the Kiwis managed to draw level at 18, their attack was blunted by the Aussie back-court defence as it kept everything alive to provide Douglas-Powell and Cook with a transition opportunity each. When L. Hill blocked truly, Australia was in complete control of the set 23-19. The match closed out when Cook aced on service, 25-20.

The 2009 ‘Murray Mansfield’ Trans Tasman Cup returns to Auckland Friday for the deciding match of the series. In what has been the most exciting and certainly the most closely contested series between the two countries in recent years, the Australians will be striving to retain the trophy, another consistent performance their means of achieving this.

Statistics

Attack – Team 43% kill 17% error (26%ke) Winzar 64% kill (11) 0% error, Cook 50% kill (10) 10% error, L. Hill 40% kill (20) 15% error
Block – Team 12 kills, Winzar 4 kills, Cook 3 kills, Lillywhite 2 kills
Passing – Team 1.92 30% perfect 10% error, L. Hill 2.06 (18) 28% perfect 6% error, McEwen 1.91 (23) 35% perfect 9% error
Serving – Team 1.84 6 aces 7 errors, Moeller 2.00 (19), Winzar 2.00 (14); L. Hill, Moeller, Winzar, Douglas-Powell, Cook and Lillywhite 1 ace each

Best players – Moeller, Winzar