DCVI Senior Girls Volleyball team wins WOSSAA title
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Spencer Seymour
The St. Marys DCVI Senior Girls Volleyball team captured the championship banner in the WOSSAA in an instant classic of a match against London Christian High (LCH) on Feb. 26.
Head coach Steve Chateauvert said the team’s three core principles were central to their victory and reached a peak of execution during their recent Huron-Perth playoff semi-final against St. Michael Catholic Secondary of Stratford.
“They really responded when they needed to most today,” said Chateauvert. “I remember, back in our first chat at the start of the year, the three things we talked about were energy, communication and no hesitation. We played St. Mike’s (on Feb. 20), and that was, I would say, the first time all season that all three of those things came together. We practiced (on Feb. 24 and 25), and they brought energy, communication and no hesitation again, and then they showed those three things again today.”
In a highly competitive match against a strong LCH squad, the Salukis went back and forth throughout the five-set match, dropping the first and third sets 25-16 and 25-21, while winning in the second by a score of 28-26. However, even in their few imperfect moments, Chateauvert credited the group for never losing their edge.
“They never stopped pushing today, and again, I think that’s something we learned in the game against St. Mike’s,” Chateauvert said. “It’s important to stay aggressive, serve tough and hit the ball. We’re not going to beat good teams by tipping and volleying it over. They bought into that, and defensively, they were relentless.”
Chateauvert also noted the electric atmosphere in the DCVI gym helped the senior girls stay in the game.
“I think the homecourt advantage really played to our favour today,” Chateauvert said. “The crowd was awesome, so a big shout out to the St. Marys DCVI fans for really bringing it today. That was a lot of fun.”
St. Marys managed to fight back in the fourth set and win by the largest deficit of any of the five sets, beating LCH 25-14 to force a fifth and deciding set. In the final set, the incredible match concluded with a dramatic 16-14 victory for DCVI, giving the Salukis the WOSSAA title.
Chateauvert credited all seven players who appeared on the court for playing a role in earning the championship banner.
“I was just really happy. It’s my last year with my daughter on the team, and so that was really special, and Marin (Chateauvert) was a workhorse out there today,” said Steve Chateauvert. “All seven of the girls who were on the floor had moments where they did really good things that put us in a spot to win. Cortney (Linton) had some great serves. Katie (Namink) was all over the floor, setting and hitting.
“Libby (McCurdy) attacked the ball, served well and played phenomenal defence. Regan (Jones) had some nice quicks in the middle, and her serving percentage would have been the best on the team. Charlotte (Richardson) is just a clutch player defensively, and offensively, she hit some really good balls. Lena (Thompson) played phenomenal defence all match in the back court, digging up hard-hit balls and chasing down tips.”
Steve Chateauvert further remarked on how the team managed to fight through adversity and the pressure they faced, noting the group’s confidence has reached an all-time high.
“One of the things that was mentioned earlier this week at practice was confidence and just having confidence in your ability to get the job done. That St. Mike’s match was the first time I saw everyone dial it up and play with a boatload of confidence, and they never wavered from that today.
“I think that St. Mike’s match really showed them how they can play,” Steve Chateauvert continued. “At the end of that match, win or lose, they were putting themselves in a great spot because of how resilient they were and how well they played, and I think that set us up really well to do what we did today.”