E.S. Notre Dame Wolves pick up A semi-final victory, confidence

From left, co-coach Viviaine Rouleau, Anika Harding, Emilie Sirois and Maeve Jordan and the rest of the E.S. Notre Dame senior girls’ volleyball team qualified for the TVRA South East A championship game against Woodstock CI on Feb. 12 at Woodstock CI with a three-set sweep of the visiting St. Thomas Arthur Voaden Vikings Wednesday, February 5th. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

The Woodstock École secondaire catholique Notre-Dame Wolves gained both a TVRA South East A senior girls’ volleyball championship berth and a confidence boost with a 25-17, 25-1, 25-10 semi-final victory over the visiting St. Thomas Arthur Voaden Vikings Wednesday, Feb. 5.

“It’s good to get some extra playing time to prepare for the final,” said Wolves captain and left side (power) hitter Emilie Sirois following the match.

Wolves co-coach Chloe Hallee attributed what she felt was a slow start to the exam break, pleased to see her charges find their rhythm through the second and third sets.

“I found they shared the ball a lot this game,” added co-coach Viviaine Rouleau. “That was one of our strengths, really sharing the ball, getting everyone involved.”

When a school’s athletic teams are selected from a student body of around 90, victories can be hard to come by, celebrated when they do. E.S. Notre Dame had defeated the Vikings 25-7, 25-16, 25-15 in their December 11th meeting, the Wolves lone victory through the TVRA South East regular campaign.

However, said setter/right side Maeve Jordan, it felt like the team had improved significantly compared to the previous season. The Wolves had been competitive in many outings, taking sets from St. Thomas Central Elgin and Woodstock Huron Park.

“Through the years, we’re learning as a team,” said Anika Harding.

And in what ranked as their regular season highlight, E.S. Notre Dame forced the 8-0 St. Thomas Parkside Stampeders to a fifth and deciding set, 25-15, 11-25, 25-21, 9-25, 5-15 on January 21st.

The TVRA South East A championship is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12 at Woodstock CI, which also finished the season with a perfect 8-0 won-lost record.

“If they can put up a fight against Parkside, they can put up a fight against WCI,” said Rouleau, looking forward to the opportunity.

“We’re going to try to keep up with them,” Sirois concluded. “Just play how we play, as good as we can and put it all out there.”

The TVRA South East AA quarter-final matchups were set for Feb. 10, with Ingersoll DCI hosting Central Elgin, Woodstock College Avenue travelling to Parkside, Woodstock Huron Park visiting Tillsonburg Gemini and St. Thomas St. Joe’s heading to Aylmer East Elgin, for a quartet of 3 p.m. starts. The semi-finals and the final will be played Wednesday, February 12th, unofficially at the home of the highest advancing seed.

TVRA Senior Girls’ AA Volleyball

Tuesday, Feb. 4 Preliminary Round

College Avenue 23, 25, 25, 25; Lord Dorchester 25, 16, 14, 23

St. Joe’s 25, 25, 25; Woodstock St. Mary’s CHS 12, 15, 12

Huron Park 25, 25, 25; Central Elgin 6, 6, 9

East Elgin 25, 25, 25; St. Mary’s CHS 17, 26, 22, 25, 12

Monday, Feb. 10 AA Quarterfinals

Huron Park at St. Joe’s, 1 p.m.

College Avenue at Ingersoll DCI, 3 p.m.

Glendale at Lord Dorchester, 3 p.m.

East Elgin at Parkside, 3 p.m.

AA Semi-Finals at Final

Wednesday, Feb. 12 unofficially at the highest senior seed.