ST George's College won gold at the 2026 ISSA Volleyball Festival in South Africa after edging Northwood School 3-2 in a tense U19 Boys final on Sunday, while the school's girls' side also turned in a strong showing at the same tournament.
The Harare school's boys survived a five-set battle to top a tournament that ran from 31 July to Sunday, featuring U16 and U19 teams from across South Africa and the region. All players were required to be currently enrolled students, with matches played under FIVB regulations.
St George's were drawn in U19 Boys Group C alongside The Kings School West Rand, Michael Mount Waldorf and Fourways High School 2. They won all three pool matches to advance, beating Michael Mount 2-1 before sweeping Fourways B and The Kings School 2-0 apiece.
The knockout rounds followed the same pattern. St George's beat WestView of South Africa 2-0 in the quarterfinals, then dispatched DSJ 2-0 in the semifinals to set up the final against Northwood.
The championship match proved the toughest test. After the sides split the first four sets, St George's closed out the decider to win 3-2 and claim the floating trophy and gold medals.
Northwood took silver, with Michael Mount rounding out the podium in third.
Godfrey Kaseke was among the standout performers for the Saints, picking up individual honours for Best Attacker and Best Server.
The girls' team also competed strongly across the festival. They won their pool matches against Pretoria High School 2 and Enjabulweni of Eswatini, both by 2-0, before falling 0-2 to DSJ.
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St George's were then eliminated in the quarterfinals, losing 0-2 to Michael Mount. In the placement rounds, the girls bounced back to beat Fourways 2 and St Dominic's Chishawasha, both 2-0, to finish the tournament on a high note.
The festival, hosted annually by the International School of South Africa for U16 and U19 teams, also handed out individual awards for best server, setter, spiker, blocker, defender and libero, along with a Most Valuable Player prize and team awards for Most Spirited and Most Disciplined.
Past winners include Allen Wilson, DSI and Prince Edward. Finals and prize-giving were held on Sunday.
The Saints are expected to return to Harare this week.
