Volleyball Reports
A magnificent start for DVS in the all-Ireland semi-final against a mighty Mallow side wasn’t enough as the Cork giants responded in the second and third sets.It was looking to be a long day in Loughrea as this all Ireland semi final got underway. Both teams full of determination as a rally began at 0:1 which seemed like it would never end. The teams seemed evenly matched but, with two Luke Tuite serving and 3 great blocks from Cormac Griffin, Drumshanbo began to pull away. Drumshanbo were flawless in this set and rarely made mistakes only missing one serve in total. Mallow did come back to within one or two points at times but Drumshanbo were well able to deal with their power. Raymond Gallagher showed this with a superb dig at 13:16 and 2 great spikes further on. Drumshanbo remained in control and Luke Tuite finished the set out in style with a brilliant spike. It was a great display from both teams but Drumshanbo were dominant and Mallows mistakes really did cost them.In the second set Mallow took a page out of Drumshanbo’s book and they improved a lot. They had learned their lessons in the first set and were ready for everything Drumshanbo threw at them. Mallow sped into the lead and despite another long rally at 3:9 Mallow won that point which was just another boost for them. A great display of spiking and blocking from Luke Tuite and Fergal Gilmartin wasn’t enough to get the vital scores. Mallow were a lot better in this set and despite Thomas Mc Manus’s hard hitting and clever play from Kian Gibbons Drumshanbo just weren’t let do the things that came so easily to them in the first set. 12:25Both teams were determined to do well in this set as the winners would proceed to the final. Try as the might, it was not Drumshanbo’s day. Danny McLoughlin was started for this set and got a great block at the start. At 1:1 there was a 36 touch rally which Mallow won and began to slowly pull away. This was much the same story as the second set as Mallow demonstrated their power and class. At 22:12 things were looking grim for Drumshanbo but this is when they upped the tempo. This late push proved too late however as Mallow only needed a couple of points to win. Mallow did in their final point again demonstrate that power they had been showing all day and no – one could deny that they were deserving winners. Drumshanbo had some great play near the end and showed good character to comeback but it was too late as Mallow only needed two points to seal victory.Drumshanbo can be proud of themselves knowing what they achieved already. Gallagher and Gibbons had another 100% service day with Gibbons extending his season run to 45 in a row- the best school run since 2007. McManus also had another great all court day.When Cian Beirne got a minor hand injury at football 10 days before the game it seemed to be a temporary set-back but his all court game was not possible and, even as a libero, he was restricted in his play. It proved a big loss. Also it must be also kept in mind that Mallow school is much bigger than Drumshanbo in terms of sheer numbers they certainly have a larger pool of players to choose from. Drumshanbo shouldn’t feel too hard done by as they can hold their heads up high knowing that as a team they can only improve and have many more years together as they go up through the cadette and senior ranks.Panel Serves; Drumshanbo A; McManus 4, Cian Beirne L, Gibbons 12, Gilmartin 7,R.Gallagher 5, Cormac Griffin 4, Luke Tuite 12, Brian Cotter, Daniel Mcloughlin 1, Alan Doran , Brian McCormack, Christian Wynne .This loss to Mallow ends a 23 year consecutive run of getting to school volleyball all Irelands. All good things must pass. But they nearly made it!In the previous round Sam Tighe hit 37 serves in a row on one day for Drumshanbo B which could be an all time school record for a day.. May Report Schools Volleyball: Junior boys last 16 /quarters Drumshanbo break Loughrea hoodoo on the double (As appears in Leitrim Observer) In December 2009 Vocational Drumshanbo went to the National final as favourites to be the top boys school for the 2nd consecutive decade. St. Brigids, Loughrea denied them that day and have beaten Drumshanbo every single meeting since, winning 3 All Ireland senior A, 4 cadette A and the last 3 Junior A finals. This year Raphaels Loughrea pipped Drumshanbo in both the Senior and Cadette A semi-finals in agonising losses. But, unbelievably, last Thursday, on Loughrea’s home ground, in one fell swoop, Drumshanbo ended the 5 year run of Loughreas in Junior A and actually were joined by neighbours Elphin in the National semi-finals.Little did Drumshanbo and Elphin know it was going to be such a successful day when early on that morning , after the long bus ride together, they faced each other in the opening A match. No more than Drumshanbo, Elphin had modest expectations. But Elphin’s modesty was forgotten when they lead Drumshanbo 5-3, 7-5, 8-6, 9-8 10-9 14-13 16-14 and crucially at 23-21. Drumshanbo played very cautiously with only Thomas McManus hitting clean winners. At 21, Jordan Earley’s time out just saved the day for Drumshanbo as the steady Raymond Galllagher served them to the set win.In the 2nd set Kian Gibbons pulled Drumshanbo ahead at 8-3. His retrieving spiking and blocking led the way. McManus served a run to 18 and Christian Wynne finished them off with some great ball control.Drumshanbo’s next match was the match of the day. Raphael’s Mark Holohan and Bruno Henriqueu were possibly the classiest players of the 100 players that were to play on the day. Drumshanbo fell 8-19 behind. However, they made Raphaels work from then
GAA Reports
Girls Gaelic Football (Report from Mr Cullen. Dec 2014)The Senior and Junior (under 16) Gaelic football teams had a number of fixtures recently. The senior team lost out to a strong team who topped the group while also receiving the points in our final fixture of the group. The Junior team played three matches over this period resulting in a comprehensive victory in an away game, while unfortunately being on the wrong side of the result of the last two games. The girls competition has now concluded until next year. Well done to all who participated and represented the school to a high standard. DVS GAA Reports For details of upcoming schools’ GAA fixtures and tables go to www.connachtgaa.ie
DVS Annual Awards Day 2015
Thanks to our Sponsors: Mr Batty Gibbons (Centra), Mr Karl Scollan (Gala), Mr Hubert McCormack ( MACE) & Ms Angela O’Dowd, Manager, Bank of Ireland, Drumshanbo, Lough allen Education Centre & Drumshanbo Enterprise Centre. Thanks also to Mr Francis Gilmartin, representing the Board of Management of DVS. SEE BELOW FOR FULL GALLERY OF PHOTOS FROM THE DAY First Year: Niamh Nolan & Fergal Moran Second Year: Anna Corcoran & Diarmuid McKiernan Third Year: Aleksander Kosnik & Shona Nugent Fifth Year: Niamh McCauley & Adam Farrell Bank of Ireland Leaving Cert Student of the Year 2015: Skye Dawson LCVP Student of the Year: Emma Gunning Senior Construction: Shane Clarke Senior Engineering: Caolan Carty Junior Woodwork: Adam Krupa & Rhiannan Lynch Padraig Noone Trophy for Woodwork: Adam Krupa Junior Metalwork: Darren McTigue(Higher Level), Rhiannan Lynch (Ord. Level) Sports Student of the Year: Kevin Moran Enterprise Awards: Cathal McGourty & Morgan O’ Reilly CoderDojo Junior: 1st Prize: Luka Dawson; Joint 2nd: Padraig Halsted & Kacper Larysz CoderDojo Senior: 1st Prize: Brian Keaveney & Sunbeam Feng; 2nd Prize: Kevin Lynch