Warriors junior volleyball girls chase Severwright aces to victory

Warrior middle Jewel Mensah (left) gets up for the block against Tillsonburg’s Avery Haley (centre) and Lydia Yarmie (right). (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

The St. Mary’s Warriors junior girls’ volleyball team chased 12 consecutive momentum-changing Mikayla Sevewright aces to victory Tuesday, December 16 at Tillsonburg Glendale.

“I was kind of really nervous,” admitted the Grade 9 rookie. “I just went back there and served my best and did my best.”

Sevewright’s service prowess helped underline the momentum shifts which may not define volleyball, but certainly are part of its makeup. Warriors coach Ethan Teague admitted his squad had none during the first set, which appeared to be headed in Tillsonburg’s favour, leading 22-13, until Severwright stepped to the line.

“Twelve in a row changes the game,” credited Teague of a crucial come-from-behind turnaround on the front end of a 25-22, 14-25, 25-13, 25-9 Thames Valley Regional Athletics (TVRA) match victory over the homecourt Gemini.

Having in effect stolen the first set, the Warriors proceeded to give their advantage back. The Gemini proved stronger on service reception, converting solid first passes into offence en route to an 11-point win.

“You could tell it was a little rough,” said Warriors middle Jewel Mensah. “Just because we won the first set we thought we could play easy and we weren’t playing up to our potential.”

It was as if a switch had been flipped for the third set, St. Mary’s powering out to an early 11-2 lead.

“We went out there and were like, we’re playing volleyball this time,” said Mensah.

“We went out there, had a good start and kept that momentum for the entire set,” added Abby Dixon, in agreement with Sevewright’s opinion the game is a lot mental. If the team gets down, its play goes down, Dixon continued.

“I feel like once our team’s energy is up, we get hyped, we play hyped.”

Given the Warriors are a young squad, just three Grade 10s and the balance first-year players, momentum swings are arguably more understandable. Although, in general, Severwright has found the transition from elementary volleyball an enjoyable and manageable one.

“It’s pretty much the same. I’m with a bunch of girls I love to play with and just do my best.”

St. Mary’s closed out the match victory in the fourth set, displaying resilience after the Gemini got out to an early lead. The Warriors eased back into the game, went ahead 11-7 and were able to maintain momentum through a Glendale coaching time out, outscoring their hosts 14-3 from that point on.

The result raised St. Mary’s TVRA record to 3-1, good for a third-place tie with St. Thomas St. Joes. Ingersoll DCI and Woodstock CI sat atop the standings heading into the Christmas break, both with undefeated 5-0 marks. In conclusion, coach Teague was happy to take the win, and also the lesson which came with it.

“We’ve got to start with the energy up so we’re not playing catch-up all the time.”