Panthers Senior Volleyball team battles to AABHN final, sets sights on CWOSSA

Quake Wallce jumps up for spike during the AABHN Finals against North Park Collegiate

George Le Gresley

Sports Correspondent  

With a bye to the semi-finals, the undefeated first-place Senior Panthers volleyball team met the fourth-place Brantford Collegiate Mustangs at the Paris home gym last Wednesday.

In the first game, the Panthers cruised to a 25-16 victory. Jason Dicks closed the game off with the team scoring seven consecutive points. Gavin Bernard and Canaan Sherbino used their jumping abilities to smash hot spikes into BCI's side of the court.

In the second game, BCI and Paris traded side-out points for most of the game, with the Panthers edging Brantford 25-23. The Panthers took control of the match by winning two of the best-of-five series.

One of the things that Coach Dela Rosa and Shelley Weaver always emphasize is focusing on eliminating errors during play; in the end, the team received the message and cruised to a 25-16 win and an AABHN championship final on the Panthers' home court last Thursday.

The winning team on the other side of the playoff bracket was second-place North Park Collegiate, a team they had defeated twice during the regular season, with a large crowd on hand in the Paris High gym to witness the action. 

To win games in today's volleyball, you have to take advantage of winning points on serves. The Panthers came out flat, winning only nine service points and dropping the first game of the best-of-five series, 25-20.

The second game was much tighter, with the Panthers playing better, moving ahead on the scoreboard after tying the game at 12. The Paris side won points off Kalen Johnson and Gavin Bernard's serves. The Trojans fought back, tying the game 25 points each. Paris scores for a 26-25 lead, and North Park ties it up, making the game a next-point-wins situation, and the Trojans win the tie-breaking point for a 27-26 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third game was all North Park, who, after being tied at 13 points each, cruised to a 25-16 win and the match in three straight games. There was no doubt the Panthers and their coaches were frustrated by many of the officials' calls, which, for average spectators like me and most people in the stands, were beyond our comprehension. 

Coach Weaver and Dela Rosa are proud of the team, and their season is not over: they have qualified for the regional CWOSSA in Walkerton on November 12.

The Senior Panther Volleyball roster includes: Carter Dela Rosa, Quade Wallace, Nate Brewster, Dexter Quesnel, Riley Roordink, Mazin Yosif, Tayvin Sayles, Jackson Dicks, Gavin Bernard, Kalen Johnson and Canaan Sherbino.  

One Last comment from this avid sports correspondent! 

Spectators at all amateur sporting events should be good spectators. Yelling during an opponent's serve or using profanities is not acceptable at a high school venue and should be restricted to one's living room watching professionals.