THE Orara High School volleyball team booked their ticket to the State Championships after an emphatic 3-2 victory over Wauchope High School.

After losing the first set in a nail biting 27-25 tie break and easily losing the second set, the ‘Orara Thunder’ appeared to be exiting the competition at the semi-final stage.

At 2-0 down, coach and teacher Alex Dujin handed out lollies and started the chant “play for fun and celebrate every point like you have won” and the boys dug deep.

“Miraculously the ‘Thunder’ started to grow louder and Orara High School came back, winning the next two sets,” he said.

“The fifth and deciding set of the match decides who goes to the State Championship and it was a thrilling episode of
gamesmanship by both teams that they both deserved a standing ovation.

“Wauchope led 13-10 in the fifth set, which was played up to 15 points, the margin for error was almost non-existent.
“From the sidelines you could almost feel the heartbeats of the Orara players.

“As Orara High School stared down the jaws of defeat, the Thunder produced five incredible rallies and won five points in a row to win the match 15-13.

“Yet again, with a relatively younger team, Orara High School achieved a most memorable milestone by equalling the
previous ‘Pioneers of Orara Volleyball’ from 2018 and 2019 and qualifying for the State Championships two years in a row.

“The journey home was a very festive one, with the team singing most of the way back to Coffs Harbour,” Dujin said.

The coach is equally impressed with how their sportsmanship on the court extends to day-to-day life at the school.

“The Orara Thunder Boys Volleyball team typifies the School’s ethos of ‘Inclusivity, Respect and being Safe’,” he said.

“The team look after each other and others around them, on and off the court and they inclusively respect each other and their peers with honour and pride.

“This in turn allows them to train, prepare, compete, and perform with an outstanding ability to thrive with a humbling confidence that transforms their dazzling energy into a winning mentality.

“This they do with a sense of fun and ease which they can draw on at the most critical moments during rallies in a match.

“This hypnotic spiritual energy yet again has prevailed in their last encounter where they played in the semi-final against a highly favoured, very skilful, confident, and well drilled Wauchope High School Volleyball team,” said Dujin.

Orara Thunder’s next match is the North Coast Grand Final on Friday 9 June in Coffs Harbour at Sportz Central Stadium where they face Evans River Community School Volleyball team.

By David WIGLEY