Chemainus Secondary School’s senior girls volleyball team attended a three-game play day at Duncan Christian School Oct. 19 and started strong by winning the first set with a close 25-23 win over DCS, the No. 2 ranked school on the Island
Sienna Waller led her team in the first match, setting up offensive plays.
Chemainus lost the second set 25-16 that led to a third and deciding set where Chemainus struggled to serve receive and lost 15-6.
The afternoon continued with Chemainus playing No. 1 ranked Nanaimo Christian School and kept the games close with the help of Kassidy Rankin as the starting setter. The results wound up in Nanaimo Christian’s favour 25-18, 25-23.
The Cougars ended the day with a close 25-23 setback against Cedar Secondary followed by a devastating 25-7 loss.
Chemainus struggled to get serves over, according to coach Kelsey Bell, with Nyah Healey being the most consistent server in the game.
“I was impressed with the perseverance shown by the girls,” noted Bell. “They battled hard to the very last point. We are going to work on our serving and serve received to come back even stronger.”
The teams will all meet again in the Island tournament Nov. 12-13.
The Chemainus Secondary gym floor suddenly became in need of repairs, putting the team on the road for its remaining games.
The most recent outing was against Lake Cowichan and the Lakers won handily.
The Cougars knew upon arrival it was going to be a tough game. “The Lakers were the strongest serving team we had faced,” observed Bell.
The Lakers beat Chemainus in two straight sets and momentum won the game.
“It was a good learning experience for the girls to see how important it was to get our serves in and keep the ball on our side to gain momentum,” Bell indicated. “Chemainus players struggled to break the Lakers’ serves. This loss has motivated the players to dig deep in practices following the loss and focus on serve receive. Chemainus will continue to make serving and serve receive our priority as we prepare for Islands.”
In previous action, Chemainus posted a victory over visiting St. John’s 25-16, 25-22 in its last games at the Chemainus Secondary School gym.
Some junior girls were pulled up to the senior team for the game.
“The game went well,” noted Bell. “Serving improved this game and positioning is getting better. We will continue to work on positioning and will be focusing on our passing next.”
The coach added Waller did a great job at setter by getting into position quickly and providing offensive opportunities.
