The Chemainus Secondary School junior Cougars practically played more volleyball games over the span of a few recent days than they had all season to that point.
The girls swept the visiting Lake Cowichan Lakers last Thursday at Chemainus Secondary School to set the tone for a hectic tournament that followed.
Chemainus took the first set 25-23 and won the second 25-19, with a great team effort from all players.
The Cougars went right into the five-team Cedar Community School Year-End Invitational the next day, competing against host Cedar Community Secondary, Brentwood Bay Secondary, Duncan Christian School and Gulf Island Secondary in round robin play in that order to start.
The first match was at 2 p.m. and the girls were on the court consecutively through 7 p.m. Then it was only a short break and straight into the playoff game between the fourth and fifth place teams.
Chemainus lost to Cedar and Gulf Islands, the eventual two finalists in two sets, but coach Kelsey Bell was pleased the team managed to split with the other two teams.
“We started getting three hits down which was impressive,” she indicated.
The playoff match against Brentwood Bay was intense after a long day. Chemainus won the first set, Brentwood Bay the second and it went to a deciding set with the Cougars prevailing 17-15.
“It kept going back and forth,” said Bell of the see-saw battle.
Chemainus then won the right to face Gulf Islands in a playoff match the next day. A loss in two sets didn’t deter the girls, as they still had a shot at the bronze medal in another game against Duncan Christian School.
Chemainus did really well in winning the first set, lost the second and then the third went down to the wire with DCS hanging on for the 17-15 victory.
“I think it was such a good learning experience for the girls,” Bell said of the tournament.
They also had to overcome some adversity with a third player in the last few weeks sustaining an ankle injury.
The Cougars have another home game Tuesday and tournament Wednesday.