Renegades on the Beach
MU Renegades members have been enjoying a great summer of beach volleyball around the Victorian coast. The 2004 South Yarra Volkswagen Victorian Beach Volleyball Series began on January 10 at St Kilda under cloudy skies. Several MU Renegades members have been competing since Round 1 and coming away with some great results.
In Round 2 of the Victorian Beach Volleyball Series, MU Renegades Honours women Cristy Mace and Jordan Schultz finished runners-up in AA Women, losing the grand final to Jury/Assetta in straight sets (17-21, 19-21). In AA Men, Steve Kay teamed up with Mike Bikiki to defeat Hinchley/Ellis 2:1 (21-15, 15-21, 15-13) in the grand final and win their first round of the season. Also playing in AA Men were MU Renegades Honours men Sam Py and Dean Penny, who reached the quarter-finals but lost to grand finalists Hinchley/Ellis (16-21, 13-21).
Cristy Mace and Jordan Schultz made up for their grand final loss two weeks later during Round 3. They again came up against J. Jury/L. Assetta in the final, easily took the first set and held on for a straight sets victory (21-9, 21-19). Steve Kay teamed up with Heath McLeod in Round 3 and came up against his Round 2 partner Mike Bickiki in the semi finals. Bickiki/Jury were too strong for Kay/McLeod on the day, winning the semi 2:0 (21-8, 21-13).
The Victorian Open was held on February 7-8, coinciding with the St Kilda Festival and drawing large crowds to watch the state's best beach volleyballers in action. In AA Men, Steve Kay and B. Newton lost their quarter final to finish equal fifth, while Sam Py and Dean Penny just missed out on a quarter finals appearance, finishing ninth. Cristy Mace and Jordan Schultz unfortunately lost to arch rivals J. Jury/L. Assetta in the AA Women semi-finals (12-21, 12-21). MU Renegades Honours women's setter Nicki Stevens teamed up with S. Nielsen in the AA Women's division, ending up equal 13th, while MU Renegades AVL teammates Kristan Butler and Sandra Carter came ninth.
The MU Renegades Social Beach Volleyball Day was held on Sunday, February 15, at St Kilda West beach. On a sunny Melbourne day, club members, friends and family enjoyed a great day on the sand and continued to make the annual event an immense success.
This year, the 2004 Victorian Beach Volleyball Series continues into the start of the indoor state league season, with weekend rounds already confirmed until the end of March. Congratulations to all the MU Renegades members who have completed so far and good luck for the second half of the beach season.