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Royals sidestep Chargers

» Good weekend for Douglas volleyball

Ayanda K. Gatsha
Contrioutor

t was an exciting weekend

for the Royals as they hosted
a strong Camosun squad that
would put them through their
paces.

The women’s game saw
the Royals off to an aggressive
start as they allowed Camosun
to chase them. As both teams
crossed the 10-point mark,

Camosun finally grasped control

of the lead. A well-called
timeout by Douglas saw the
Camosun momentum wither
away though. The Royals were
able to take the lead back and
win the first set 25 to 22.

The second was just as

close lived as the first, with both :
teams vying for the lead. Despite :
: Ultimately, it was Camosun

: who took the second at 26-24.

: Things began to look bleak for

: the Royals, who were now down
: two sets.

strong play and hustle from the
Royals, Camosun was able to
take it, 25-23.

The victory was short-
lived as the last two sets were
dominated by the home team
with the scores being 25-21 and
25-18 respectively.

Saturday’s game was much

: different. Camosun came into

: the game determined to make

: up for the previous night and

: did not falter in their effort. In
: a tough but clean series, the

: visiting team was able to sweep
: the Royals 3-0.

After the second game,

: coach Kyra Iannone spoke about
: the loss. “They (Camosun) were
: better today. They showed up

: and played a way tougher game,

and for the most part, we didn't.”
Over on the men’s side,

: the weekend started differently
: compared to their counterparts.
: They began the slugfest chasing
: the lead until the end, resulting
: ina 25 to 23 loss.

The second set saw a lot of
hustle from both teams as they
traded points back-and-forth.

Nevertheless, Douglas

: continued playing with the
: same fervor as before, catching
: an overconfident Camosun

: off guard. They fell to an
: overwhelming Royals squad that
: took the fourth, 25-20.

The final set was truly

: climatic as both sides exchanged
: leads early on. Midway through,

: the Royals were finally able

: to wrench control from the

: Chargers and finished the game

: strong, claiming a comeback

: win, 15-1.

The last game of the week

: featured a near carbon copy of

: the events from the previous

: night. Once again, the men

: found themselves on the verge

: of losing. Down two sets to one,

: the Royals were able to rally in

: the fourth and force a fifth. They
: crushed Camosun in the final set
: giving them two much needed

: wins against their rivals.

After the game, coach Brad

: Hudson spoke about how he

: felt the team performed. “We

: played really good considering
: we played essentially two

: completely different lineups on
: back-to-back days. The team

: played with great energy and

: emotion this weekend.”

Player Profile:
Bryce Derton

» Rookie player of the men’s basketball

team

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

BS Derton is a first year
player for the men’s basketball
team. The Royals’ No. 12 plays
shooting guard, and is enrolled
at Douglas in the Criminology
program.

Although the classes and
system may be new to him,
something that hasn’t changed
for him is basketball. Derton has
been playing the game since the
age of four and began playing
competitively at the age of seven.
He credits the start of his passion
to a family friend, whom he
fondly recalls playing with as a
child. But it is his brother who he
credits his growth in basketball
to.

Bryce and Sheldon Derton
share a two-year age gap, with
Sheldon being the older of the
two. Bryce described his brother’s
contributions to his career as
“huge’— giving him credit for
keeping Bryce grounded and
pushing him to be a better player
and person overall.

In the distant future, Derton
can see himself travelling
overseas to play in a professional
league. At the moment, however,
he is focused on improving
himself, in terms of playing and
education. His goal this year,
much like the rest of his team,
is to make it to Nationals. But
unlike many others who believe
improvement in a wide variety
of areas is the key to winning,
Derton believes that positivity
will be a key factor for the Royals.

Coming in fresh from
high school, Derton had little
to no idea what the structure

 

: of the program would be like.

: He came in expecting a rigid,

: hard-pressed atmosphere but,

: instead, was pleasantly surprised
: when he found himself ina

: program where everyone has an
: equal say and opportunity. He

: was welcomed with open arms

: and given a chance to grow and
: thrive in a positive and friendly
: environment.

However, making the first

: team was anything but easy.

: Derton recognizes the depth that
: the team has at the moment but

: remains confident in his skill and
: ability to perform when called

: upon.

The pressure to play well is

certainly real as well, especially

: in-game. Although the pressure

: has lessened somewhat since the
: beginning of the season, when

: rookies need to prove themselves
: worthy of a first team position,

: it has not disappeared. Rookies

: often find that if that make a

: mistake in a real game, they can
: be riding the pine fora while

: before they get another chance.

So how does Derton deal

: with the pressure? He tackles

: it head on with positivity. His

: key to playing well is to remain

: positive and take every chance

: he can to play. It helps to have a

: team that supports their rookies,

: and Derton credits his teammates
: for always picking each other up

: when things are looking down.

In the next couple of years,

: Derton is looking forward playing
: more minutes and being a bigger
: impact player on the team. He

: believes that given a couple years

: of growth and experience, he can
: be the best player in the league.

Image via @BBCU13Metro Image via twitter