DCVI Senior Girls Volleyball team performs well at OFSAA

The St. Marys DCVI Senior Girls Volleyball team had a strong performance at OFSAA in North Bay March 9-11 and earned the Team Sportsmanship Award.

By Spencer Seymour

The St. Marys DCVI Senior Girls Volleyball team has a solid showing at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championships in North Bay March 9-11.

Though they didn’t capture a medal, they were honoured with the Team Sportsmanship Award, which head coach Steve Chateauvert said was a great accolade for the squad that won a Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association (WOSSAA) title earlier this season.

“As a coach and a team, we’re incredibly proud of receiving this award,” Chateauvert told the Independent. “It speaks to our team’s character, sportsmanship and the way they represented St. Marys DCVI both on and off the court.”

Chateauvert explained the experience of competing at OFSAA was very valuable for the part of the team who are eligible to play again next year.

“I think it’s very important,” said Chateauvert. “About half of these players can play again next year, and now they know what it takes to play at that next level. Being involved in that WOSSAA match and then getting some experience up in North Bay at OFSAA really is important in getting them to understand how they need to play the game.”

Chateauvert added the younger players have grown into very good players thanks to the guidance of the graduating students.

“I think they have aggressiveness and intensity. They certainly showed that at WOSSAA as well as when we were up in North Bay for OFSAA. We were in a couple of really close matches with teams, and some of them went our way, some of them didn’t, but I think one of our strengths this year was just playing really aggressive, serving tough, hitting the ball as much as we can instead of playing it safe. And in the end, that strategy really did pay off.

“I think just their experience and how they play the game (is what the younger kids have taken most from the graduating players),” continued Chateauvert. “All the seniors who are graduating play with such intensity. They play to win. They don’t quit on anything, and that’s really important in the game of volleyball. I really hope that has been passed down to the Grade 11 students this year.”