Ending on a high > Royals women’s basketball bounce back Davie Wong Sports Editor fter a tough second week, the Royals women’s basketball team faced the tough challenge of bouncing back from a pair of hard losses. They faced the CBC Bearcats, and the dreaded Capilano Blues. The Bearcats were supposed to be the ee Photo via Douglas College Student Service's Flickr easier of the two games, but the Bearcats played well, and challenged the Royals. A tight first half saw the Royals escaping with only a seven-point lead. Needing to turn on the jets to brush past the Bearcats, the Royals found it was much more difficult to beat the CBC squad this year than it was last year. However, at the end of four quarters, the Royals managed to pull out a comfortable win, 62-49. The best in the west > Royals women’s volleyball flying high at midseason Davie Wong Sports Editor A; the volleyball season comes to its Christmas break, the Royals women’s volleyball team find themselves sitting at the top of the PACWEST, and consequently, the top of the West. The team is ranked second in the CCAA, an achievement of monumental significance for a program that hadn't won a playoff game in years. Much like their position in the PACWEST, the Royals share the spotlight with their rivals, the VIU Mariners, who sit one spot below them at third. Both teams have 10-2 records in the PACWEST, good enough to tie for first. However, the Royals have the edge according to PACWEST sorting rules, and will enter the break in the first place position. Having played the first of two round-robins in league plays, the Royals can be confident in their ability. They’ve beaten every team in the league at least once, so no team is undefeatable for them. They’ve only lost to the Capilano Blues, and the VIU Mariners. The Blues loss was at the beginning of the season, away from home, which is understandable. Losing is a vital part of the learning process. The other team the Royals lost to is the Mariners in a game that saw an epic five-set series on home court that could have gone either way. But it’s not just the wins that matter. It’s the way you win, and the Royals have shown time and time again that they are just ahead of the rest of their opponents. The team has an impressive set record of 32-16. More often than not, the Royals take the match with a convincing 3-1 score. This has much to do with head coach Jeff Ross’ willingness to experiment and give chances in his lineup. However, when work needs to be done, Ross has shown that he knows who to send onto the court. The Royals heavy-swinging offence has gotten the job done so far, and it shows on the boards. Three of the top five kill leaders are Royals. Caet McCorkell has taken the PACWEST by storm. The Royals rookie is third in the league for kills, punching in 156 at the split. She’s also the most consistent, ranking third in the PACWEST for kills per set with 3.32 kills. Her hitting percentage of .261 makes her the fifth most efficient hitter in the league as well. Vicki Schley has a solid 120 kills, which is good enough for fourth in the league. Vania Oliveira has looked good in her sophomore year on the court, and her numbers show it. With 11 kills, fifth most in the PACWEST, Vania has definitely swung less this year. But she’s swung smarter, picking of a hitting percentage of .300, third best in the PACWEST. Defensively, Claudia Corneil has been a rock for the Royals, and the best libero in the PACWEST. Her 187 digs is the PACWEST’s best, and her 3.90 digs per set is the second highest. On the frontline, Kendra Potskin and Olivia Cesaretti has been fighting the good fight. Potskin’s 27 blocks is the fourth highest, but her 0.64 blocks per set has her as the second most consistent blocker. Olivia Cesaretti has been a standout this year in the middle position. Her 28 blocks has her tied for second most Simran Bir had a great game for the Royals, scoring 15 from the bench. Rachel Beauchamp had 12 points, and Jessica Castillo had 1 on the night. Nanaya Miki almost picked up another double-double as she grabbed 10 rebounds but only scored nine. However, that was just a warm-up for the main event. The Capilano Blues and the in the PACWEST, and her 0.58 blocks per set is fourth best in the league. In terms of setters, the Royals have played with two this season. Abby Mitro has seen more time on the court than last year, but Jane Kepler remains the Royals go-to setter. Her 284 assists, and 6.93 assists per set have her planted firmly as fourth best in the PACWEST. Overall, impressive statistics from the Royals tells us that they are a team that can do it all. As they head into the Royals battled for gold last year, and this year was their first time meeting since that fateful day. As one would expect, the game saw fireworks fly from the very start. A 22- 19 first quarter in favour of the Royals set the pace before a slow second showed both squads’ talents on and off the ball. At the end of two, the Royals led 32-28. Although the first half was tight, the third quarter was a blowout. The Royals stepped on the gas and never looked back, scoring 23 on the quarter while keeping the Blues to 12. All that was left was to play defence to see the game out. Try as they might, the Blues just couldn't solve the Royals. 71-53 in favour of the Royals makes the game look easy, but it was anything but that. The Royals simply kept the Blues big scorers off the ball, and took losses where they needed to. On the other hand, the Royals scorers had a field day. Nanaya Miki picked up a double- double, scoring a team leading 14 and picking up 12 rebounds. Sarah Jorgenson and Rachel Beauchamp both had 10 points and seven rebounds. Sara Kurath dropped 1 points and played a huge shut down role for the Royals. The pair of wins is the highlight for the Royals as they head into the winter break. With the first third of the season over, the Royals are looking strong, but not as good as they looked last year. However, much like last year, expect them to come back from the break stronger than ever. midseason break, the focus will likely be on building upon the foundation they have from their excellent start. It’s likely as the season goes on, we'll see Jeff Ross begin narrowing the roster and having the team play cleaner, smarter, and stronger volleyball. If this is just a preview, it'll be frightening to see what the team can be like if they get into end- of-season form. Look forward to this Royals squad making a deep run this year. Photo via Douglas College Student Service's Flickr