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Home court, hometown spotlight |
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Written by JASON PETERS, Citizen staff
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Tuesday, 25 November 2008 |
Members of the D.P. Todd Trojans, back row from left to right, are assistant coach Debbie Ward, assistant coach Brian Bird, Jessica Harasym, Morgan Moore, Breanna Elleray, Courtenay Gibbons and head coach Nevio Rossi. In front, from left to right, are Chelsea Rossi, Riley Flannagan, Olivia Smith, Brooklynn Ward and Ashley McMillan. Elise Foot is missing from the picture.
The best before the rest.
When the D.P. Todd Trojans open the senior girls volleyball double-A provincial championship tournament Thursday morning on home court, they’ll do it against the top-ranked St. Patrick Celtics of Vancouver.
The Trojans, seeded 13th for the 16-team event, don’t mind that matchup.
“It is probably an advantage, knowing that facing the top team, it’s not going to get much harder than that,” said Brooklynn Ward, a Grade 12 power hitter for the Trojans. “It’ll be a good game.
“We played them two years ago in junior provincials. They were a good team then, too.”
Breanna Elleray, a Grade 12 middle blocker, said she’s “excited” about facing the Celtics first.
“I think that they’ll think it will be an easy game,” she said. “But I know how we play -- it won’t be that easy for them.”
The match will start at 10:15 a.m. and will be played in front of D.P. Todd’s full student population.
“Being in front of the students, you just want to play well, so it’s a lot of pressure,” said Ward, who was the most valuable player at the recent north central zone championship tournament, won by her Trojans.
The Trojans will also be in their gym for two other matches on Thursday, at 12:55 p.m. against seventh-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas and at 3:35 p.m. against 11th-ranked Prince Charles of Creston.
The tournament continues on Friday and will conclude on Saturday. A total of 18 Thursday matches will be held at the Northern Sport Centre. Then, on Friday and Saturday, all contests will be decided at the NSC. Saturday’s bronze medal match is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and the championship final will start at 6:30 p.m.
Nevio Rossi, head coach of the Trojans, has simple goals for his group.
“Our objective is to compete and maybe to finish in the top 10,” he said. “I think that would be realistic for our team and I think our girls are ready to try to pursue that goal.
“We think we’re competitive with some of these teams in the top 10. Obviously St. Pats is considered the team to beat. They’re the team everybody’s shooting for, and justifiably so. They’ve had a great year.”
The Trojans were pretty darn good themselves. And they played the entire season without the services of perhaps their best player, Grade 12 middle blocker Elise Foot. She injured a knee during a summer volleyball camp and has been on the mend ever since.
In the absence of Foot, other players jumped to the forefront, including Elleray. Typically, she’s a power hitter but has been swinging out of the middle instead. She still has the same old sting on her kill shots and has adjusted well defensively.
“We all had to step up a lot,” Elleray said in reference to the Foot injury.
Added Rossi: “Elise was our Roberto Luongo. When he went down in Vancouver, the team really stepped to the plate, and our team did the same thing.”
One of the reasons for D.P. Todd’s success to date has been a commitment to defence. Rossi said that must continue at provincials. As well, he said players like Ward, Elleray and Grade 11 setter Ashley McMillan must lead through their actions on the court.
“If they play well, the team will play well,” Rossi said.
Other Trojan team members are Jessica Harasym, Olivia Smith, Courtenay Gibbons, Chelsea Rossi, Morgan Moore and Riley Flannagan. Assistant coaches are Debbie Ward, Randy Wagner and Brian Bird.
Senior Girls Volleyball
Double-A provincial championship tournament
The rankings
1. St. Patrick
2. Pacific Academy
3. Westsyde
4. Brocklehurst
5. Brentwood
6. St. Thomas More
7. St. Thomas Aquinas
8. Woodlands
9. Sa-Hali
10. Fraser Valley Christian
11. Prince Charles
12. York House
13. D.P. Todd
14. Fernie
15. Correlieu
16. Mount Elizabeth
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 November 2008 )
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