Talent awarded despite team place

Albany Volleyball Association's Zak Wilsher defied his team's last place finish in the recent Volleyball WA State Championships to be crowned one of the tournament's best players.

Held at the Loftus Recreation Centre in Leederville on May 30-31, Wilsher was a member of Albany's men's team, competing in the men's A-division.

Despite the team finishing fifth from five teams, Wilsher was rewarded for his strong performance by being crowned the most valuable country player in the division.

Wilsher, 21, said he had won MVP honours in competitions before but this was his first at State level and he was thrilled.

"I was a little shocked, I didn't think I played that well but I must have been consistent through the games," he said.

Wilsher said although the Albany team's result was not what they had hoped, it was still a good competition.

"We were just a little inconsistent but when we were clicking we played really well as a team," he said.

"I'm a little disappointed but it was all good fun."

Albany Volleyball Association president Aaron Bailey said Wilsher's achievement was not a shock to the team.

"Zak has been a solid volleyball player from day one, so we're not surprised that he got MVP," he said.

"We know he's got the skills, so we're just happy that he got recognised."

Mr Bailey said despite the team finishing last he was happy with how the team played against such strong competition.

"We were competitive all the way through, we just came up against some very competitive metro teams," he said.

"We also had a few metro guys playing with us, so for a team that doesn't train together we did well."

Albany also had a women's team playing in B-division, finishing equal third out of six teams.