Whitehorse Daily Star

Image title

Photo by John Tonin

SETTING THE ATTACK – Setter and player of the game, Brandon Petelski (middle), finds his attacker Zack Beaudry (10) in Friday’s supervolley action. Petelski led the way on of- fence, spreading the ball to all attackers on route to a 3-1 win.

Image title

Photo by John Tonin

SWINGING HIGH – Warriors middle attacker Emma Boyd (12), barely gets the ball past the out-stretched hands of the Crusaders blocker Gabby Rayo (12). The Warriors closed out the final game of their regular season with a 3-0 win.

Image title

Photo by John Tonin

Image title

Photo by John Tonin

Image title

Photo by John Tonin

Supervolley regular season ends

The final games of the regular supervolley season were played at F.H. Collins last Friday night,

By John Tonin on October 22, 2018

The final games of the regular supervolley season were played at F.H. Collins last Friday night, as the Warriors and the Vanier Crusaders hit the court to close it out. The teams as well as the Porter Creek Rams will travel to Dawson City for the Dawson Invitational Volleyball Tournament, before returning home to Whitehorse, to battle it out in the supervolley playoffs.

Warriors down Crusaders in girl’s action

The F.H. Collins Warriors and the Vanier Crusaders had another back and forth match. In the end the Warriors were able to walk away with a 3-0 victory. The game was a tune-up for the playoffs, as the two teams will meet again once they return from Dawson, as they battle it out to see who will play the Rams for the supervolley championship.

In the first set both teams came out firing, but were unable to harness that energy into positive results, as each team missed serves, and narrowly missed the court with their attacks. The set remained close throughout, with the scored tied at 22 in the late stages of the match.

With serve belonging to the Warriors, Brooklyn Massie stepped to the back line. With strong defence and net play, the Warriors did not lose another point, taking the first set 25-22.

The early rust of the first set was shaken off by both teams heading into the second, as the errors that were compounding on either side of the net gave way to impressive offensive and defensive play. The set was close throughout, as each team matched the others offensive output.

In the late stages of the second, the Warriors were able to gain a small advantage led Maya Carins-Loche, who had some vicious attacks and timely digs, on her way to winning player of the game honours. The Warriors took the second set 25-22, after Page Poelman’s attack found the hole in the block.

With momentum on their side the Warriors came out swinging in the third. The pressure their offence put on the Crusaders’ defence was too much to overcome. The Warriors found their passing game and were able to run their offence from all positions on the court as they took the third set 25-10.

Crusaders take hard-fought battle 3-1

In the final game of boy’s supervolley with plenty of playoff implications the Crusaders were able to overcome an early onslaught and poor third set on their way to a 3-1 victory.

The beginning of the game started slow for both teams, as they played side-out volleyball in the early stages. The Warriors were able to create early separation led by their middle attacker Manus Toews, who was killing balls from the front and the backcourt, giving the Warriors a 21-17 lead.

With momentum squarely on the Warriors side of the net, the Crusaders set to steal it back. First they got a booming hit from middle Rylan Stoker, who followed it up with a strong serve forcing the Warriors to give the Crusaders a free ball. The Crusaders capitalized, as middle attacker Zack Beaudry obliterated a ball off his opponent’s chest. With momentum back with the Crusaders they were able to make the comeback, taking the first set 27-25.

The second set was also close as each team had some devastating attacks. The set remained tied at 23 all, but the offence generated by Crusaders left-side attacker Quinn Howard, proved to be the difference maker as the Crusaders took the second set 25-23.

With plenty of fight still left, the Warriors jumped on the Crusaders in the third set. The Warriors offence was clicking, overwhelming the Crusaders defence, who had no answer for the attack, led by Toews. The Warriors took the third set in convincing fashion 25-16.

In the fourth set the Crusaders regained their form, and it started on defence, led by libero and last week’s player of the game Arcel Siosan. With his team passing well, setter and player of the game Brandon Petelski was able to find all of his attackers, mixing up the offence, making them difficult to stop. The Crusaders rolled to a fourth set victory 25-16, taking the game 3-1.

With the win the Crusaders have gone undefeated through the supervolley regular season, getting a bye into the finals, where they will await the winner of the Warriors and Rams game.

Before the supervolley finals both the girls and the boys teams will turn their attention to the Dawson Invitational Volleyball Tournament, which is the first in the “triple-crown” of events for the Whitehorse schools.

“We have what is unofficially called the triple-crown of events to win,” said Peter Grundmanis executive director at Yukon schools athletic association. “The first is Dawson, the second is the supervolley and the last is the Yukon championships, which will be held right here in Whitehorse. So we will see who gets the first jewel in the crown this weekend.”

Since the teams in Whitehorse have only played amongst themselves they are going to experience a whole different level of competition, but Grundmanis believes the teams will be able to find a new gear in the tournament.

“The Whitehorse team’s are pretty familiar with each other, but it’s a whole different level of intensity and excitement,” said Grundmanis. “The quarters are a little tighter, it’s a really awesome atmosphere. Dawson will have the advantage of the home crowd, and that means a lot up there, but we are just looking forward to seeing good volleyball matches.”

Be the first to comment

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.