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First match victory a positive sign for senior girls volleyball team

Slow, but steady progress being made by the Cougars after DCS/Cowichan tournament efforts
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Chemainus Cougars senior girls volleyball coach Kelsey Bell makes some pointers to her players during a time-out. (Photo by Don Bodger)

The small steps being taken by the Chemainus Cougars senior girls volleyball team are important ones.

The Cougars played a lot of volleyball in two days with six games in the annual Duncan Christian School/Cowichan Secondary School Senior Girls Volleyball Invitational Friday and Saturday.

“The girls didn’t get the results they wanted on the weekend, however, they had some comeback from behind games,” noted Cougars’ coach Kelsey Bell.

The Cougars also won their first match of the season during the tournament to finish 14th out of the 16 competing teams. That was a significant achievement as they continue improving.

“Serving was much improved from last tournament, but it is still something we need to work on,” added Bell.

Aona Seto was a key player for Chemainus with her passing and consistent serving. She was named the team’s tournament all-star.

The Cougars started in Pool B play at Duncan Christian School. They lost to eventual tournament champion John Barsby of Nanaimo 6-25, 17-25, fell 17-25, 21-25 to the host DCS Chargers and then rounded out the pool with a setback to Brentwood College B.

That put the Cougars into consolation play Saturday at Cowichan Secondary School that began with a tough 24-26, 18-25 loss to Frances Kelsey.

Chemainus was down 24-18 in the first set and on the verge of losing it when Seto stepped up to the line and delivered six successful serves in a row to tie it 24-24.

Unfortunately, the comeback ended there as Kelsey scored the next two points to take the set.

The second set saw a strong start from Chemainus, but its early lead slowly evaporated, as Kelsey surged into an 11-11 tie. Kelsey then scored eight straight points to take command.

Next up was a meeting with Brookes Westshore and the Cougars were victorious 25-23, 25-17.

Playing against Aspengrove for 13th and 14th places, the Cougars didn’t have enough left in the tank and dropped an 8-25, 13-25 decision.

This Friday and Saturday, the Cougars are heading to Ballenas for another tournament where they’re going to work on positioning, serving and passing, according to Bell.

“My hope is that we can pass more consistently and create more offensive plays,” she indicated. “Each tournament the girls are learning more and more. They are a hard-working bunch and I am excited to see their efforts pay off in the upcoming tournaments.”

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April Brooks makes a brilliant backhanded move on the ball to return it to the Frances Kelsey side. (Photo by Don Bodger)
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Daisy Wright makes her presence felt at the net for the Chemainus Cougars senior girls volleyball team against Frances Kelsey during the Duncan Christian School/Cowichan Secondary School tournament. (Photo by Don Bodger)


Don Bodger

About the Author: Don Bodger

I've been a part of the newspaper industry since 1980 when I began on a part-time basis covering sports for the Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle.
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