BACKOver the summer our top female beach volleyball pair, Kiana Stevenson and Kaia Buckley, competed in the New Zealand Open Beach Volleyball Tour. This national tour consisted of five events across various locations around New Zealand between January and March. This year it featured athletes who are vying for a place in the 2022 Commonwealth games. These five star tournaments took place in Mount Maunganui, Nelson, Christchurch, and Auckland. Kaia and Kiana, two of Rangitoto College’s Year 12 students, were one of the youngest teams to play in the tour and they found it a huge privilege to play against some of the top beach volleyball players in the country. The pair worked very hard throughout the tour and came back with some great results.
When playing in Christchurch and Mount Maunganui, Kaia and Kiana made the A grade finals. The Christchurch final took place on the centre court in Cathedral Square, where tonnes of sand had been moved in to hold the event in this prominent location. After Christchurch, the two went on to play in the final tournament of the New Zealand beach tour where they gained their best result, coming 5th overall. Congratulations Kaia and Kiana for a great beach season. We are proud of your achievements so far and look forward to seeing your continued development and success over the next summer.
