Incandescent Royals keep burning

> Women’s soccer team extends their winning streak

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

Dew That’s the
only way to describe how
the women’s soccer team has
been matching up against
their competition as of late.
Coming off the back of three
straight wins against some of
the PACWEST’s best teams, the
Royals came into this weekend
with a record to settle against
their rivals from across the Strait.
Despite a rough season to
date, the VIU Mariners came into
Saturday’s battle with a record
of 2-1-5, and were ranked the
sixth best team in the CCAA.
The Royals held a record of
4-2-3 and were ranked eighth in
the CCAA, as well as being the
league leader in the PACWEST. It
was always going to be a heated
matchup, no matter how bad the
rain wanted to dampen that.
Picking up right where
she left off last week, Mikayla
Hamilton started the action
for the Royals, scoring an early
volley to give her team the
lead. The Royals would hold
onto that lead and defend it
for the rest of the first half.
Going into the second,
the Royals were determined
to put the game away. Mikayla

Hamilton gave her team the
boost they needed and put away
her second of the game and
seventh on the season to give the
Royals a commanding lead. The
Mariners did all they could to
bring the game back, sending a
couple players out on breaks, but
Royals goalkeeper Alexa Gazzola
was there to keep her team in it.
Moments later, it would
be co-captain Michelle Wessa
who put the game out of
reach for the Mariners with a
fantastic strike. From there,

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the team shut the gates of the
Mariners, and left them out
in the rain without a goal.

The 3-0 win sent a message
across the league, if a message
needed to be sent, that these girls
were here to win, and there was
very little that could stop them.
However, seeding is still a very
important aspect to the team’s
season, and their next match was
essential to determining that.

The Quest Kermodes were
knocked out of playoff contention
last week, but it didn’t stop

Serving up some wins

> Royals women’s volleyball review: October 14-15

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

he women’s volleyball team

is coming into this year with
high expectations, both from
fans, and themselves. The team’s
ambition will be put to the test
as they try to balance change
and high performance. While
turnover is normal for collegiate
programs, what is abnormal this
year is the presence of a new
coach. Jeff Ross comes into the
program after being an assistant
coach to the UBC Thunderbirds,
as well as a variety of other
involvements with the sport.

Last Friday, Jeff got his first
taste of PACWEST action as his
team took on the visiting CBC
Bearcats in the team’s home
opener. Jeff got everything
he could’ve asked for from
his opening squad, and the
team showed their dominance
on the court. Juliana Penner
shredded the CBC defensive
formation on the serve, and
the captain showed exactly
why she was an All-Star. The
home team took the set 25-17,
in a statement that showed that

 

this year’s team wanted it all.
The next set was cleaner
by the Bearcats, but the Royals
were still the team finding the
way to get cheeky points off
the serve. Rookie Vania Silva
dos Santos de Oliveira was the
server this time that found all
the right gaps, as the Royals
outclassed their opponents

Photo by Davie Wong

them from trying to upset
the team’s seeding plans. The
Royals travelled out on Sunday
to meet with them on their field
for the last time this season.

It only took the Royals 20
minutes to find a way to get
on the board. Andrea Perrotta
ripped home a placed shot to
get the Royals up early. After a
hard foul in the box, Perrotta
was given the chance to double
from the spot. Stepping up to
her mark, she slotted home

 

 

 

 

 

in the set, taking it 25-20.

But if there’s one thing
you can say about the Royals’
opponent, it’s that they never
give up. The Bearcats came
storming into their do-or-die
set, and the Royals looked like
they would falter. But once
again, it was the captain with
the serving arm who really

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rallied her team. Penner served
for eight straight points before
being retired, taking her team
from down three to up five. Her
team closed out the set as the
Royals swept the Bearcats in the
first game of the year for them.
The two teams met again
the next game, as the Bearcats
looked to redeem themselves.

her second goal of the game,
and gave the Royals a 2-0 lead
going into the half time break.
Coming out of the half,
Perrotta made good on her hat-
trick opportunity immediately,
cashing in on a shot to give
herself and her team three
goals on the day. However, the
Kermodes would find a way to
strike back. They scored their
first goal shortly after Perrotta’s
hat-trick to make it 3-1.
They would add another
to really pressure the Royals,
but ultimately fail to bring
it toa tie, and the Royals
held on for the win, 3-2.
The win improves them
to 6-2-3 on the season, with
21 points, The team has all
but secured their second best
regular PACWEST season in
a row, with only the Capilano
Blues able to catch them. For
the Blues to do that, they need
to win all three of their games,
including their game against
the Royals, and need to win
by two or more goals when
they play against the Royals.
The women’s fantastic form
of late is just what the team
need to be at when they go into
playoffs. If they play like this for
the next couple weeks, they will
repeat as champions easily.

They did so right from the
start, stealing a set away
from the Royals, 25-21. But
the rude wakeup call sprung
the Royals into action, and
they punished the Bearcats.
The second set was a
statement, with the Royals
really hammering down, taking
it 25-18. The third set was
nearly an exact repeat, with
the Royals never letting the
Bearcats back into the game,
taking it 25-17. The Royals then
closed out the game from there,
finishing with a score of 3-1, and
completing their weekend 2-0.
The games were statements
in and of themselves for the
team, and new head coach Jeff
Ross got the chance to talk
about his team’s performance.
“I thought they did very well.
They definitely took care of the
ball and played together as a
unit. It was a good team win
for us. The team came together
and played stronger after 20
minutes. Juliana (Penner)
did well this weekend. She’s
definitely the captain for a
reason, and she showed her fifth
year experience this weekend.”