This weekend our grade 9 girls played at the SRSS for the grade 9 provincial open.

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Our team brought a fantastic amount of energy and drive right from the start, winning our first 3 pool play games against Beliveau, Isaac Newton and Vincent Massey Brandon. Going into our 4th game, we knew that we would be up for a challenge against MBCI. In the end, we struggled to get our serves and fill the gaps that MBCI continually found on our court.

This placed us 2nd in our pool, which meant that we had a bit of a longer route getting to the finals than we anticipated. We started off playing Stonewall, who we beat in the third set. As we went into our Semi-finals game against CJS, the girls were beyond exhausted. Despite the fact, we played a tight defense throughout the game, covering weak points on the court, diving for balls that seemed almost possible, and attacking every opportunity we got. Despite having one of our top 6 getting injured in this game, we came together as a team and fought for the win.

As we approached the finals against MBCI, our girls found some extra energy in their tank. This was the moment we envisioned all season, being in the finals against MBCI on home grounds.

We started the first set strong, with Layla Cudney serving a few bullets, giving us a small lead. Just when MBCI seemed defeated, they climbed back to take the first set. As we approached the second set, our energy started out flat, allowing MBCI once again to find the weak points on our side and take a significant lead. As the girls had seemed to have given up with a 16-21 lead for MBCI, the girls came back to take the 2nd set.

We started the 3rd set with some missed serves and a few communication errors, giving MBCI a small lead. Unfortunately, we struggled to take back that lead from MBCI, mostly because of our lack of coverage on tips and dumps.

It was a very disappointing loss for everyone on our team, but I can’t say how proud I am of each of these girls. Each one has improved dramatically over the course of our season. We started out as 2 teams and only came together for provincials in the last 2 weeks, leaving us with a very limited amount of time to learn how to play and trust each other as teammates. In the end, we are proud to say that we still got 2nd in the province! If there was one thing that I am most proud of with these girls, it’s the character and support that is shown on and off the court to each other. These are an amazing group of girls, and they will do some great things in the upcoming years!

This is still such an accomplishment and each one of our players should be so proud of their efforts this weekend! If you see any of these girls around school, be sure to congratulate them!

Go Sabres!

Karleen Unger
Physical Education Department
Grade 9 Girls Volleyball/Girls Fastball Coach

in: Athletics