Drumshanbo VS Junior As reach National Semi-Final

Drumshanbo won two very close sets against Laois school Mountrath to make the final four in the Junior A boys. Although they failed to reach the final, they also took a stunning set against favourites Castleknock which makes them the most successful Junior A from the vocational school for six years.

Quarter Final: Drumshanbo VS beat Mountrath CS 25-23 25-21

This was such a tight match. Down 0-2 until Diarmuid Prior hit a winner, and down 2-4, serve runs from Prior after a tip down winner from Patrick Keane got them ahead. Finally aces from Keane helped, and great setting from Daragh Nolan led to Anton Bierova spiking winners. 

Senan Lee aced to 12-8 ahead. Liam Harte spiked a great winner from the back court and followed up it with two aces to make it 16-11. Drumshanbo peaked at 20-14 on the Bierova serve. But back Mountrath came, keeping difficult balls in play and suddenly they levelled at 23. However, Ruairí Mulvey finished the set.

Set 2 was equally close. Drumshanbo played 5 subs (Mountrath 4) but the Leitrim school froze at the start. Thankfully Mountrath subs went for big serves and missed most of them, so it was even for nearly every point up to 11-11. 

Traolach McGovern’s deep serves and two great low bending digs from the tall Oscar Liddy, opened a 14-11 lead. At 17-16, spikes from Liddy and Jared McMahon’s accurate serves restored the three-point lead and Mulvey, top server of the day, made it 22-18. 

The Drumshanbo VS All Ireland Junior A boys volleyball semi-finalists. (Back, from left) Oscar Liddy, Patrick Kane, Senan Lee, Anton Bierova, Diarmuid Prior, Owen Moffatt. (Front) Liam Harte, Traolach McGovern, Jared McMahon, Darragh Nolan, Ruairí Mulvey 

Mountrath made a final charge with two aces to leave it 22-20 but in the final point, Owen Moran (an acer back at 6-5) and McMahon combined to set up Bierova for the final spike winner.

Semi Final: St. Vincent's Castleknock beat Drumshanbo 25-9 20-25 25-9

What a strange match. For the first set Drumshanbo were stuck to the floor and literally did not move for much of the first half. Later they improved with Lee and Nolan to Bierova combinations and a good run of serves from Keane but they then found Vincents very good at getting to the ball.

Castleknock got away with handling decisions early on and one observer said that, had they been punished it would have been 12-12 instead of 7-17 at one stage, but the west Dublin school were definitely the more together team.

The first eight points of set two were like a dream. It was definitely the best Junior display of consistency for six years. Nolan and Harte aced. Keane set perfectly for Prior who hit down many winners. Lee covered everything at the back. They led 7-1!

After that, they were more mixed but Castleknock were so rattled that they made mistakes. Keane served to 14-6. Bierova aced it to 17-7 and spiked a great winner at 21-15. However, another Drumshanbo player was so delighted, he ran up to congratulate Anton and promptly lost his position on court. The side line warned them but confusion reigned. 

Drumshanbo missed serves and Castleknock claimed an extra point because of the rotation error. But, as Castleknock climbed to 20, Mulvey saved a winner, Prior served to match point and Bierova spiked the winner!

Alas that was the day’s peak. Back to the frozen players of set 1 for set 3 and with very few rallies even, time-outs and even Mulvey, Liddy, and McGovern coming on failed to stem the tide!

However, the quarter final win also means that Drumshanbo have contested a National A semi-final in volleyball every year possible since 1991 – an unequalled record.

Serves: Kane 9, Harte 9, Bierova 10, Prior 9, McGovern 5, Lee 3, Nolan (captain) 8, McMahon 4, Liddy 1, Mulvey 11, Moffatt 2

Since Drumshanbo’s success in qualifying for the last six in Junior A, their manager Emmet Forde was bereaved by the sudden death of his relatively young and very active father Jimmy Forde. All those involved in Drumshanbo volleyball would like to express their deepest sympathies with Emmet and their thoughts are with him and his family.