Vaiea just too good dominating the 2022 Bula Mix Volleyball Tournament

Once again the village of Vaiea has taken the championship title for the Bula Mix Volleyball Tournament 2022 held at the Paliati grounds last Saturday.  

Vaiea dominated the volleyball tournament last year making it their second year in a row to maintain their championship title. 

But what made it a further step ahead this year for the village was winning both first and second place overall for the tournament, proving once again to the rest of the island that Vaiea is just too good when it comes to volleyball. 

The team that came in third place overall was Tuapa and fourth place went to the Samoa team Punialavaa. 

The tournament was organised by the Fiji Community which has now gone on for its fourth year in a row to host the bula volleyball tournament. 

According to one of the organisers Gabriel Varea, a total of 20 teams registered but only 19 teams participated last Saturday. 

The teams included Aliutu 1, Aliutu 2, Alofi, Hakupu, Avatele 1, Avatele 2, Tuapa 1, Tuapa 2, Punialavaa, Health 1, Health 2, Makefu 1, Makefu 2, Lakepa 1, Lakepa 2, Alofi 2, Pink Panthers, Vaiea 1, Vaiea 2 and Vaiea 3.

There were four courts on the day and the 19 teams were split equally into the four groups A, B, C and D. 

The tournament began with round robins which determined the top two teams of each group to make the quarter finals. 

The teams that qualified for the quarter finals included Lakepa, Punialavaa, Tuapa, Aliutu, Avatele and all three teams from Vaiea. 

The teams that made the semi-finals were Tuapa, Vaiea 1, Vaiea 2 and Punialavaa. And the two teams that faced off in the finals were Vaiea 1 and Vaiea 2. 

Gabriel Varea told BCN news that the “tournament was a success and to have up to 20 teams register was a bonus. Despite the postponement of the tournament, we were very grateful for everyone’s support and commitment to make the tournament a success.” 

“We saw an increase in participants below the age of 18 which was very promising. Hope that’s sufficient,” says Mr. Varea. 

The organisers would like to “acknowledge the Fiji community, Niue High School, Health Department, Government of Niue, Rock On, J’Love Sounds, RockSteady, and Stone Solutions for their support and not forgetting the teams that participated on Saturday. Fakaaue lahi for the support.”