DCVI junior boys fight back to defeat South Huron

Braydon Wheeler, the team’s expert libero. drops to a knee to keep the ball in play during the St. Marys DCVI junior boys volleyball team’s three-set win over South Huron on Oct. 23.

By Spencer Seymour

They may not have started perfectly, but the St. Marys DCVI Junior Boys Volleyball team roared back to win the second and third sets of their match against South Huron on Oct. 23.

After starting a bit slow in the first set, which the Salukis dropped 25-14, DCVI’s junior boys completely took the game over in the second set, scoring the first 18 points of the set before ultimately winning 25-9.

Head coach Rachel Hendriksen mentioned the serving of Jacob Savile as key to getting the white-hot 18-point lead to start the set, with the entire team’s resiliency guiding them the rest of the way.

“Obviously, the first 18 points were mostly thanks to Jacob’s (Savile) incredible serves,” Hendriksen said. But I think it was the idea of, ‘Okay, we need to rally back.’ They didn’t get down on themselves. They felt they had to come back, they did a better job supporting one another and there was more cohesiveness than in the first set.”

South Huron fought back in the third set, resulting in a nail-biting conclusion, ultimately going in St. Marys’ favour with a 26-24 decision. Hendriksen noted the team got major contributions in the third set from further down their bench.

“Honestly, I think a lot of those players played like they had something to prove,” said Hendriksen. “Those were the guys who don’t always get as much playing time, and they were definitely up for the challenge. They had to step up and work together, and they were really focused on playing true volleyball. We weren’t just throwing the ball back over. We were trying our best to pass-set-hit and use everyone on the court.”

Hendriksen further described some of the team’s strong individual efforts, of which there was no shortage.

“Jacob (Savile) serving 18 in a row over the net was amazing and a huge part of winning that second set,” Hendriksen told the Independent. “His serving ability and his confidence have grown incredibly, and his awareness on the court and his leadership are amazing.

“Our libero, Brayden (Wheeler), definitely takes charge in that back row. He’s a really consistent passer and really reliable back there. Even after the game, the referee said to me, ‘I love your libero, he really knows what he’s doing.’ Evan (Wolfkamp) had some good swings, and our setter, Dominic (Marziali), gives us great sets and great leadership.”

Coming into the season, there was very little volleyball experience amongst the junior boys, but Hendriksen credited the team for their outstanding growth from the start of the year to now.

“Overall, you can definitely see the improvement they’ve made. Individually, each of them has come a really long way. A lot of them have only been playing volleyball for the past two months, so to learn the technique, the positioning and how to work as a team as well as they have, it’s evident they have been working really hard.

“Their awareness of the game of volleyball really stands out,” Hendriksen continued. “We’ve gotten a lot better at understanding where to be on the court to help each other out and how to communicate out there. And probably the biggest thing is their confidence. It’s great to see how much their confidence has grown.”

The Salukis’ final game of the regular season is on Oct. 30 in Mitchell, with the winner taking third in the Huron-Perth standings. Hendriksen said she hopes the team enjoys however many playoff games they end up competing in.

“I want to just go as far as we can and do our best,” Hendriksen said. “I really want the boys to continue having fun playing volleyball. That’s the most important thing in high school volleyball is that they’re enjoying it. They are a really nice group of kids and a fun group, so I want them to have fun, and the way they can have fun is playing their best and making it as far as we can.”