Home Sport Other Sport Portlaoise College U-16 volleyball team achieves All-Ireland title glory again

Portlaoise College U-16 volleyball team achieves All-Ireland title glory again

20th February 2025

Portlaoise College have won the U-16 Division ‘A’ All-Ireland volleyball title for the second time in the last three years.

The Laois team seen their team play Grange Community College in what turned out to be a riveting encounter at NUIG.

Portlaoise headed into the match as the favourites for the tie, which was on show in their first set, when they ran into an early comfortable lead of 15-8.

Grange would show great resilience in the opening set when they clawed the match back to 15-12.

This would force the Laois school to call a timeout, after a breather and a reinvigorated determination.

Portlaoise seemed to be pulling away with ease but again, Grange showed their quality and drew close with a nail biting score of 23-22.

At last, after a great display from both sides, Portlaoise would seal the first set, with a score of 25-22.

The Second set was where Portlaoise’s quality was truly shown. They would be 15-6 ahead, a gut-punch to Grange after a first set display full of heart. Portlaoise cruised to a 25-15 second set win, clinching the championship in just two sets.

The quality of Portlaoise’s attack really set them apart in the tie. Enzo Tetzner, the setter for the team was named MVP of the match.

Tetzner played an immense role in the final performance; he would deliver sets that allowed the hitters to rack up points.

The hitters who proved to be powerful in the encounter were captain Akachi Ogbulafor and vice-captain Jeremiah Phillips and Azim Shitta.

While the attack proved prolific, this would be nothing without the solid defensive efforts.

This was led from Libero Drake Cebarce and blockers such as Adam Oduloua and Tajus Subelko.

The performances from the Libero and blockers assured that Portlaoise were defensively savvy, ensuring that no score against the College would come easily.

Not only on the court were Portlaoise a good unit but of the court too, with Zion Edhodaghe and Marcin Schimmelpfenig leading chants on the sidelines, boosting morale.

The performance was led by the coach Pawel Nowakiewicz and Assistant Coach Nicky Walsh.

The two coaches were humble in victory, focusing their praises on the dedication and work ethic of the team.

They said: “The lads have been playing since first year, and their passion for the sport continues to grow.

“Some of them have three All-Ireland titles, which is a testament to their commitment.”

The coaches would also praise the mentality of the players speaking of the “determination to come back stronger” after losing in last year’s semi-final.

With this great success for the Laois team, their journey is not over.

Their next challenge is to take on Portadown College, Northern Ireland and establish their dominance for the island as a whole.

PANEL: Jeremiah Phillips, Zion Ebhodaghe, Akachi Ogbulafor, Tajus Subelko, Azim Shitta, Enzo Tetzner, Adam Odukoya, Marcin Schimmelpfenig, Drake Cebarce