Good performances across the board at the University Sports South Africa volleyball tournament can see Fort Hare establish itself as one of the leading tertiary institutions in the action-packed code.
Fort Hare students Nande Fuzile, left, and Indiphile Bacela will hope to make an impact at the University Sports South Africa volleyball tournament in Mankweng, near Polokwane, from July 2 to 7. Photo: Supplied
Having placed fourth in 2021 and 2022 in the national competition, the university’s men’s team will be among the fancied outfits at the annual sporting week where the country’s top varsities are pitted against each other.
The women, who placed 10th out of 19 academic institutions last year, will also try to leave their mark on the event that will be hosted by the University of Limpopo in Mankweng, near Polokwane, from July 3 to 7.
Team manager Hope Fata said their recent run of form, including last year’s USSAs, inspired them to make a statement in Mankweng.
“In the past years we have been doing well at the USSAs and we are fully focused on trying to improve on those performances.”
Despite some challenges in the run-up – and the obvious challengers – Fata said they were going for gold in the men’s section while eyeing a top five position on the women’s side.
“That is our current mindset and it would be a huge accomplishment. We know a lot of work lies ahead of us.”
The squad will put the finishing touches to their preparations at a training camp this week and Fata believes it will ensure that their mental and physical shape will be on point for the upcoming examination.
“We will try to overcome the challenges we face and use the time we have with the players to the best of our ability,” she said.
“One of the things we (coaches Prince Ncube and Trezah Nyathi-Ncube) will be doing is to use the beach volleyball situation to improve the players’ movements in a restricted environment, training them to keep developing their skills and to perfect the movements with which they are already familiar.”
Fata added that travelling to tournaments – like the recent one at Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha where they won team gold, Most Valuable Player and Best Setter – and participating in leagues against strong competition had sharpened their focus ahead of the USSAs.
“This sort of exposure motivates the players to continue improving their games and to do better with each match. For example, after the previous USSA weeks we have always come back eager to take our performances to the next level.”
In recent years, Vaal University of Technology and University of KwaZulu-Natal have set the pace at the national competition but UFH are confident of bridging the performance divide.
“We have shown in the past that we can match these sides and last year caused an upset and surprised many with a win over KZN,” she said.
With the make-up of teams likely to change dramatically from the previous year, Fata insisted that they were ready for all eventualities.
“We never quite know exactly what to expect.
“That means we often face different gameplans and tactics, but it is something we bear in mind during our preparation so that we are ready for anything that comes our way.”