NORTHERN Ireland Volleyball hosted their largest ever international event at the South Lakes Leisure Centre in Craigavon and celebrated a home victory by retaining the St Patrick’s trophy for a third year in a row against their visitors from the Republic.
A large crowd of over 500 made up of spectators, volunteers and players saw four top level international matches played across the day – U18 Women, U20 Men, Senior Women and Senior Men with Northern Ireland securing ownership of the St Patrick’s trophy with a 3-1 overall victory in matches.
Special guests included Lord Mayor of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Sarah Duffy, Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart, CEO Sport NI Richard Archibald and the President of European volleyball Roko Sikiric, a first visit to Northern Ireland by a sitting President.
NI’s two women’s teams battled hard against their counterparts from the Republic of Ireland with the U18 Women coming out comfortable 3-0 winners and the Senior Women agonisingly coming close to completing the 4-0 clean sweep, losing their match 3-2. Both teams gave it their all and played their part in a memorable day for everyone involved in Northern Ireland Volleyball.
Match results :
U18 Women: Northern Ireland 3-0 Ireland (22-25, 25-19, 25-14,25-18)
U20 Men: Northern Ireland 3-2 Ireland (25-22, 17-25,25-11, 18-25, 15-7)
Senior Women: Northern Ireland 2-3 Ireland (25-23, 26-24, 28-30,16-25, 13-15)
Senior Men: Northern Ireland 3-0 Ireland (25-16, 25-13, 25-18)
The teams are now looking forward to the next instalment in March 2026 with Volleyball Ireland hosting and continuing what has become a fantastic tradition between the two federations.
NI Junior squad
Local MP Carla Lockhart (centre) called in to watch the action
NI Senior women
NI v Republic action
Republic U18s
NI U18s
