Pierre Florendo Short and bittersweet. The Douglas College Royals ended their first game of 1999 with one- sided results for both teams. The women’s team defeated the Trinity West- ern Spartans 3-0, but the men’s team lost by 0-3. The results can be attrib- uted to which team had better defense, although a couple of quéstionable calls by the referee did affect the game. The Royal women gave the spectators a great performance, dominating the competition in all three games. DC showed Trinity how to attack, defend, and keep control of the ball. However, the game itself had a few problems. The Spartans started with serve, quickly losing it to a Douglas attack. With the spectacular serves from Christine Bonish and the well timed kills from Harinder Reel, our women pulled to an early lead of 9-1. TWU made a great effort to come back, but our team held on to the lead to win the first game 15-9. During the first game, the referee on the floor seemed unsure of his calls; however, this did not seriously affect the game. The second game had Douglas serving. TWU was determined not to lose this game, and therefore the score stayed at 0-0 through a dozen servers. The stalemate continued as Trinity scored a point, followed by DC. In the end, the Royals broke the tie, thanks to 6 kills by Harinder Reel and the blocking efforts of Kirsten Homeniuk and Christine Bonish. Douglas took this one 15-5. The third game was much faster and more aggressive, as the Spartans tried to avoid elimination. The defense on both teams increased greatly, as did the number of tips and short set spikes. Mel Palmiano contributed with her serves, resulting in.a 5 point run by Douglas. Trinity pulled to an 11-14 lead, but the Royals came back, winning the game and the match 16-14. If they can play like this after a two week break, then they're headed for gold. The night would end on a bitter note due to our men’s volleyball team’s loss 0-3. A combination of strong defense and somewhat odd judgments drove the Royals to a loss. The Spartans began the night with serve, scoring early with a 5 point run. The two referees had changed . places, so the floor ref. was now the net ref. Although Darren Gross and new power hitter Chris Ward played well with good kills and blocks, little things, like switching positions too early (according to the ref), cost them points. DC would lose this one 6-15. The second game was extremely shocking, as Trinity would go on a 10 point run and an apparent shutout. TWU’s defense was excellent, while DC’s needed work. There were some beautiful moments— like Geoff Beck’s amazing block for a point, Noel Philippot using his head to save the ball (literally), and Shelby Desjarlais slamming hard into the wall for a ball save. Unfor- tunately, the apparent favouritism of the net ref (giving Chris Ward a yellow card for questioning a call), and the great defense by Trinity resulted you waiting cele The Douglas College Vision Centre offers 30-50% savings for Douglas College students, employees & their families. Outstanding service, too. David Lam Campus, 1250 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam Monday-Friday, 9:30am-5pm Call.us at 527-5824 Douglas College Vision Centre Alfred Sung Roots Flexon Bugle Boy Dakota Smith Lauren Hutton in another loss 5-15. The third game had DC facing elimination. The attacks got fiercer, with Darryl McCrady and Michael MacKay scoring some good kills for side out. However, the ref’s calls continued to be detrimental to our team, with alleged net viola- tions and other question- able calls, thus giving the Spartans more points. Trinity was eager to win this game, so they turned up the kills and put up more walls. Trinity won game (and match) 5-15. The quality of referee calls in this game left much to be desired. The arguably unjustified calls were turning points in the game, and cost Douglas valuable points. Student special 10% off with — Douglas College ID Douglas College 74 Eighth Street | New Westminster, BC < 8th STREET 5 Ph/Fax 522-7823 |~ Columbia Street the Other Press January 13 1999 TW ——