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Written by JASON PETERS, Citizen staff
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Sunday, 30 November 2008 |
Tough start, terrific finish.
That was the story of the D.P. Todd Trojans during the double-A girls high school volleyball provincial championship tournament, which wrapped up Saturday at the Northern Sport Centre.
The Trojans, hosts of the 16-team event, lost their first five matches but regrouped in time to win their last two. In the final standings, the Trojans placed 13th, which matched their pre-tournament ranking.
“To be honest, a 13th-place finish was a bit disappointing because I thought we would do better than that,” said D.P. Todd coach Nevio Rossi. “I thought we were definitely a top-10 team. But, having said that, it was pretty clear to see that there were some very strong teams here.”
The Trojans took their five-match losing streak into a Saturday morning contest against the Mount Elizabeth Eagles of Kitimat and finally gave themselves reason to smile. The D.P. Todd players put their inconsistent play of the first two days behind them and won 25-18, 25-17. Next, the Trojans faced the Prince Charles Bluestars of Creston. The match went to a third and deciding set, and D.P. Todd emerged with a 15-7 decision.
“It felt awesome -- it was so rewarding,” said Courtney Gibbons of the Trojans, in reference to the tournament-ending victories. “We worked more together as a team. There was no division. And we had fun, most importantly, which I think we really needed to do the whole weekend and didn’t.”
The Trojans opened the tournament on Thursday, in the most difficult way possible. They played the St. Patrick Celtics and the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints back-to-back. The Celtics and Saints went on to clash in the gold-medal final on Saturday night.
“We had a really tough start to the tournament,” Rossi said. “We played two quality teams and I think that kind of set us into a tailspin. Losing is contagious, just like winning is. I think that set the tone for the weekend for us. But I’m not using that as an excuse because in order to be the best you’ve got to beat the best. We didn’t do that, but we learned a lot, that’s for sure.”
Morgan Moore, one of the D.P. Todd players who will be back on the roster as a Grade 12 next school year, saw the overall provincial experience as a positive one.
“Even though we didn’t do too great, it’s nice to be a part of something like this,” she said. “There are so many good teams here and it feels good that we’re here too. (Playing at this level) was hard at first, just because it’s different from what I’m used to. But it was still a great experience.”
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 30 November 2008 )
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