Better late than never for the Chemainus Secondary School Cougars senior girls volleyball team.
It took until the final match of the season, but Chemainus finally enjoyed a sweet victory during the North Island girls A high school volleyball championship at Duncan Christian School.
After showing flashes of brilliance during the tournament but still falling short in other matches, the Cougars defeated Ucluelet 27-25, 25-22 Saturday to take 10th place in the 11-team event.
“The first game, we were down 1-11 and after a timeout where we reset, strategized and relaxed, the girls turned it around and kept steady to take the win and then rode that energy and played so well to win the match,” noted coach Jill Astren.
“As a coach, it was so fulfilling to see the girls play strong volleyball demonstrating their growth and their potential for years to come. This is a young senior group with the majority coming back next year as we only have to say goodbye to our two Grade 12s Kassidy Rankin and Sydney Lyderik and then our exchange student Hanna Held. I am proud of how well they all came together and how happy they were to earn that win to end the tournament.”
Astren’s team showed steady improvement since the first game of the season, particularly with the girls’ serving, but never seemed to get rewarded for it.
The Cougars went into the tournament a bit shorthanded. Olivia Laidlaw sprained her ankle at practice Thursday morning and was there to yell and cheer to bring the girls up. She was able to get into limited action on Saturday for some key serves and played the final game.
Izzy Price and assistant coach Ray Schulties couldn’t attend the tournament due to illness.
The Cougars extended two other matches during the tournament to the full three games for the first time all season, including one against Cedar that finished in third place. The capabilities were always there and some solid play by the Cougars just couldn’t be sustained over the course of the full match most of the time.
Chemainus opened pool play Friday morning against Campbell River Christian and fell behind 9-0 without an answer for one dominant server before settling down and finally getting untracked. The first game ended in a 25-9 defeat.
In the second game, Chemainus lost a heartbreaker to CRC 25-27 after leading several times during the game and missing a chance to win it at the end. The Cougars were called for a rotation violation with the game on the line as they had been serving with a 24-23 lead.
They had another chance with a 25-24 advantage, but gave up the next three points.
Rankin, Lyderik and Ruby DuMez all recorded key serving points throughout the match.
The second Pool B match Friday afternoon had Chemainus digging deep for a 25-17 victory in the second game after losing the opener to Cedar 15-25. The third and deciding game wound up 15-9 for Cedar.
Completing the preliminary round against Ucluelet Friday evening, Chemainus lost in two tight games 20-25, 18-25.
Saturday’s consolation playoff opener was against North Island and the Cougars dropped a tough 19-25, 25-23, 12-15 decision.
With their last gasp, the Cougars put it all together to win the rematch against Ucluelet later Saturday.
Marley Ollett had some amazing serving runs throughout the weekend that really helped the team climb out of some deficits; Rankin, DuMez, Lyderik and Held were consistent servers; Emily Wong and Kennedy Constable made some great digs, lifting up the defensive game; and Sydney Brownlow and Lyderik had provided superb set and spike plays that got the team super excited.
Assistant coach Linden Ubungin watched the rotation closely, especially after the missed two crucial points in the first game of the tournament. “He has been a big supporter of this group and just loves volleyball,” pointed out Astren.
The top six teams advanced to the Island playoffs. Nanaimo Christian School was first, host Duncan Christian second, Cedar third, Aspengrove fourth, Lake Cowichan Lakers fifth and Port Hardy sixth.
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don.bodger@chemainusvalleycourier.ca
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