Drifting the Rockies

> Men’s volleyball face Avalanche challenge

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Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

or the men’s volleyball team, the

bye week was a chance for the small
team to build back their strength and
continue to work on their basics. After
a nice 2-0 week against the Bearcats,
some R&R was nice. But they came
back into the season against a closely
trailing College of the Rockies squad.

Knowing that a loss would tie the
two teams in the standings, the guys
got off to a hot start. However, the
Avalanche snapped back a couple of
times during the first set. Using their
momentum, the Royals were able to
close out the game with a, 25-21 set
win. The second set saw the College
of the Rockies squad find their form
and crash back into the game with
a huge showing. They overcame the
momentum of the game, bounced
back into the game with a 25-22 set
win.

From there, the Royals turned
the knob on their performance and
brought it to the next level. They
never let the Avalanche control the
ball for more than a few points, and
absolutely locked them down in the
third set. The Royals would go on to
take the set 25-14.The fourth set was
a continuation of the third where the
Royals just ran over the Avalanche,
finishing the game with a 25-16 set
win, anda final score of 3-1.

The next day, the Avalanche
came back to avenge their loss. It
was a thrilling start to the game as
both teams traded sets to start the
match. The Royals took the first set
25-16, while the Avalanche took the
second 25-16, The third set was much
closer as the game began to ramp up.
However, the Royals managed to grab
the set win, taking it 25-21.

The Avalanche would not be
beaten so easily, though. They battled
their way through the fourth set

Royals back on track

> Women’s basketball finds pace one again

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

he Royals came into the season with a

hot hand, but came stumbling into the
second semester. Going 2-2 in their first
two weeks back from the winter break, the
team looked good, but just couldn't find
the winning formula. After a week off to
regroup and build back up their form, the
team faced off against two challenging
middle of the table teams in the Langara
Falcons and Quest Kermodes.

An odd schedule blip saw the team
play away at the Langara Falcons on
Wednesday night. Both teams came firing
on all cylinders right out of the gates,
with the Royals taking a 4-point lead off
their 20 first quarter points to Langara’s
16. Douglas locked down in the second,
denying the Falcons more than 10 points.
They also managed to drain 17 more points
of their own and walked into the half with
a12 point lead, 37-25.

From there, the Royals squad
turned on the heat, and closed out the
shooting lanes for the Falcons. They ran
all over the Falcons for 23 points on the
quarter. The Falcons only managed to
grab a few buckets in comparison. With
things looking like they were in the win
column, the Douglas squad was rotated
out to make room for the younger, less
experienced squad.

 

The inexperience showed, and the
Falcons soared back in the fourth quarter.
Their 22 points to the Royals’ 13 was a
strong effort and a good showing, but it
wasn't enough. When the final whistle
blew, it was Douglas ahead, 73-53.

If you've been following the team this
season, it shouldn't be a surprise to you
when I say Rachel Beauchamp had a huge
game for the Royals. She was one rebound
short of yet another double-double,
scoring 21 and picking up g rebounds.
Instead, it was her teammate Sarah

  

fighting to stay in the game, and
eventually were able to come out on
top with a 25-22 win to force a fifth
and final set. It wasn’t a smooth start
for the Royals like they hoped, and
they fell behind early. But the Royals
are fighters, and they clawed their way
back in the set. With the game down
to game point, and the Royals still far
behind, it would take a massive effort
for the home team to come back. And
a massive effort it was, as the Royals
came just one point away from tying

Photo by Davie Wong

Jorgenson that came up with the accolade.
Her 14 points and 14 rebounds was enough
for her first double-double on the year.
Ellen Fallis also picked up 13 points on the
night to help the team pick up a huge win.
The squad’s next match was on
Saturday at home as they faced off against
the Quest Kermodes. The Kermodes have
been out of form this year with a record of
4-7 heading into Saturdays game, but the
team isn’t too far removed from the squad
the won bronze last year at the Provincial
championships, meaning the Kermodes

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Photo by Davie Wong

the game at 14. However, in the most
anti-dramatic way, the Royals lost to a
floundered ball that the ref happened
to miss, which resulted in the
Avalanche scoring the game-winning
point.

The series split keeps the Royals
in the middle of the table, tied for
fourth/fifth place with the Capilano
Blues. Camosun sits ahead of them
by four wins, and the College of the
Rockies sit below them, trailing by
one win.

were still a threat.

With that in mind, the Royals played
cautiously to start the game. Their tactic
rewarded them with a 21 point start to
the 6 of the Kermodes. The Quest squad
did manage to double their score in the
second quarter, but the Royals launched
themselves way into the lead. They led
36-12 at the half.

A regrouped Kermodes squad came
out in the second half, but the Royals
were more than ready to go toe to toe with
them. They traded 15-12 with the Royals
taking the upper hand of that quarter.
Backs against the wall, the visiting Quest
team needed a miracle to come back into
the game. They almost got that miracle,
too. A huge 24-point quarter for the
Kermodes closed the gap, but it still wasn’t
enough as the Royals were just a little
too far ahead. The game would close out
at 58-48 in favor of the Royals and the
Douglas squad picked up their first 2-0
weekend of 2017.

Credit should be given to the
Kermodes’ defensive game, though. They
managed to keep the Royals starting line-
up and inside game to under 10 points
each. However, they sacrificed their
outside game, and Simran Bir just tore
into them from there. She put down 15
points, the most for her team, on the way
to helping the team lockdown their ninth
win on the season.