Belconnen beat Royals to claim 2020 Capital Volleyball League title

He knew the quality of their opposition all too well. He also knew the cruel effect expectation could have on the Capital Volleyball League stalwarts.

After all, the story of David and Goliath never ends well for the latter.

But those doubts were promptly put to bed as Belconnen came back from behind to defend their title, beating the Royals 3-2 at the National Hockey Centre on Sunday.

The victory marked their 10^th consecutive grand final appearance, an achievement coach Borgeaud credited to the commitment from his players.

"Even though we've made 10, we haven't always been the top team. We've always given ourselves a chance," Borgeaud said.

"Over a long time, it's been a quality commitment from a lot of players.

"Each one has been special. I said on Wednesday night at training 'win or lose, you should be proud of what you've done.' You can't judge everything on the win or loss, because there's a lot of other good stuff that happens before you get that opportunity.

"Credit to the association too. When we started, I honestly didn't think we'd get through a whole season [due to COVID-19]. They did a great job organising."

Royals reached the decider following a remarkable inaugural campaign, having knocked out ladder-leaders AVA in last week's semi-final.

But the Royals were far from being the new kids on the block, boasting the likes of Australian outside-hitter Sam Walker in their ranks.

They dominated the opening sets and a maiden CVL title loomed on the horizon as they surged ahead to a 2-0 lead.

But that's where their charge stalled as Belconnen refused to go down without a fight.

"[We did] simple things like reducing our error rate. A couple of players, that's all you need," Borgeaud said.

"Like Kevin Phang, our number 12, he got going and probably had his best game of the year, which is nice because it was a grand final."

Royals' Marty Collins was disappointed to not get the win after winning the first two sets, but said it was a good game of volleyball.

"That's why it's so disappointing. We couldn't put another one away, but we knew Belconnen were used to those types of games," Collins said.

"We really enjoyed it, we've played with a lot of those guys for many years."

The Weston Creek-based club was launched in partnership with the Canberra Royals earlier this year.

The success of their inaugural season has Collins looking forward to their future in the league.

"It's really exciting. The club has a lot of teams and junior players. I expect it to keep growing and growing," Collins said.

"There's a lot of good reserve-grade players coming through as well."

Meanwhile, AVA's Mikaela Stevens and Joshua Howat won the league's best and fairest awards for the 2020 season.

AT A GLANCE

Capital Volleyball League finals: Premier Women - AVA 3 bt ANU 2 (18-25, 24-26, 25-12, 25-15, 15-12). Premier Men - Belconnen 3 bt Royals 2 (21-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-10)