Attack from the middle

Women’s volleyball finishes middle-of-the-pack

By Davie Wong, Sports Editor

This weekend brought plenty of things to the world of Douglas sports. Unfortunately, not everything in life is positive, and for the members of the women’s team, it was bit of rough end to the season.

The weekend started early for the team as they faced the Capilano Blues on Thursday as part of a back-to-back. The women needed to win both games to move ahead of the Blues in the standings. With that in mind, the Royals kicked off their series with an exciting start.

Having the home court advantage can be influential for some teams, and it was no different for the Royals. The host Royals found themselves crushing their opponents in the opening set, going up early in the game. This allowed the Royals to really relax and just play their game. They had no trouble winning the first set, taking it convincingly 25-15.

The second was a direct contrast. This time it was the Blues who got the early lead. The Royals managed to fight back to within eight points but the lead they gave was just too much and they ended up getting closed out before they could finish their comeback.

That ended up being the story of the night as the home team continually gave large leads to the Blues and could never catch up. They would end up falling to Capilano in three straight sets after the first win.

The ladies hoped to reset things on Friday. Losing the night before meant that they had no chance moving up in standings, but it didn’t make the coming match any less important. It just made it a statement match.

But for whom the statement was made in favour of is arguable. The first set of Friday’s game set the mood for the entire game. Both teams came in with something to prove and they finished the set hard. However, like the previous night, it was the Royals’ tendency to give their opponents a sizeable lead that led to their downfall.

Their gift leads gave the first and second set to the Blues, despite the Royals being right behind them on the scoreboard. They did take a set in the third when down two, so that speaks to their mental strength, which is going to be so important in the team hopes to do well at Provincials.

In the end, the team was blown out in the fourth set, and Capilano took the game, 3-1. It wasn’t the end to the regular season that they wanted, but all they can and should do now, is look towards the playoffs.