February 24 1999

Cast In sI

Talking softly, carrying many big sticks & the number of a lawyer since 1976

Volume 23 Issue 18

 

 

Solid Silver

Hamish Knox

Douglas chased Malaspina all year,
and Saturday night they got their
chance to take on the Mariners with a
trip to the nationals on the line.

The match didn’t get off to a
good start for Douglas, as the Mari-
ners jumped to a 5-0 lead. The more
experienced Malaspina front line was
totally dominating the Royals, who
were tentative with their offense and
not moving on defense.

Coach Sue Sharp called her
second time out of the game with the
Mariners leading 14-3, making what
was billed as a clash of titans into a
public whipping. Something was said
in the DC huddle that sparked an
incredible comeback run, in which
Douglas began to play like the team
they had been all year. Christine
Bonish, recently named to the BCCAA
first all-star team and as an all-
Canadian, took over the game,
planting kills at the feet of Mariners
defenders and rejecting any attempts
by Malaspina to get a kill across the
net. DC tied up the score at 14-14
and was holding serve, which they
promptly blew into the net. Normally,
after a huge comeback like the one
that the Royals had just completed, a
play like a blown serve would crush
the team, but Douglas held fast and
took the first game 17-15.

The Royals came out of the
between game break with a little more

    
   

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The Royals share a moment of togetherness

savvy and appeared to be in control of
the match, until the Mariners started
smashing kills through the Douglas
front line, running out to a 7-2 lead.
DC assistant coach, Ken Kleindiest,
received a yellow card from the head
referee for arguing a line call, which
he thought was out of bounds.
Malaspina also picked up a yellow for
delay of game after a Douglas time
out. The Mariners dismantled the
Royals for the rest of the game,
except for a few rallies that resulted
in zero points for either team, and
took the game 15-7.

The tone for the third game was
set when the Royals blew the first
serve into the net, giving Malaspina
all the momentum they needed to roll
over DC. The Douglas bench was
extremely quiet during the later
stages of the match; the huge moun-

6 cai!
Siiver Medal
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tain they had to climb to get the
gold, apparent to everyone on the
Royals side. The exhaustion of the
first game comeback began to show in
this game as the DC defense began to
get slower and the Mariners closed in,
taking the game 15-7.

The beginning of the fourth
game looked like a resurgence by the
Royals, who came out of the huddle
flying. The Douglas offense and
defense was clicking along until a few
questionable line calls led to some
critical Mariners points. Malaspina
used the momentum from those
points to dominate the rest of the
game and ace the Royals for the final
point of match, to take the provincial
crown 3-1.

Player of the Match: Christine Bonish

 

Iver and bronze

Bronzed

Hamish Knox

After fighting through the first two
rounds of the BCCAA provincials, the
men’s volleyball team took on the OUC
Lakers for a spot on the podium.
Douglas jumped out to an early

- match lead, taking the first game and

sending Okanagan back on their heels.

The pace of the second game
carried over from the first, with DC
coming to the net for quick, well-
placed kills and a two-man wall that
sent every Laker attack back in their
faces. OUC eventually figured out how
to split the Royals’ block and began to
climb back in the game, their confi-
dence soaring. Douglas didn’t help
themselves any during this time as
they repeatedly blew serves into the
net and sent attacks out of bounds.
The Royals eventually found them-
selves, after a great hustle play by
Chris Ward and Ryan Henley saved a
poorly played ball that an OUC
blocker hammered into the net. OUC
called time after that play, but fell
apart under a relentless attack of
jump serves and fierce kills from the
Royals as DC took the game 15-7.

In the provincials this year,
both teams have started matches off
strong, then faded, only to pull out a
victory on hustle and heart. This is
how Douglas started off the third
game, missing kills and serves that
they were putting away earlier in the
match. Fortunately for the Royals, the
Lakers didn’t capitalize on any of the
gifts DC gave them, calling time out

. after Douglas jumped to a 7-1 lead.

The rest energized OUC—they began
to crawl back into the game, benefit-
ing from Douglas’ lack of hustle and
missed serves. After one such play,
where the ball landed amongst a
group of straight-legged Royals, setter
Ryan Henley attempted to calm the
team, telling them to forget the last
play and get on with the next. After
the Lakers had drawn within one, 9-
8, Coach Brian Newman called for

; time, his frustration with his team’s

play illustrated by the throwing of his
clipboard moments before. DC went on
a small, 4-0 run after the pause in
play, but couldn’t finish OUC off. The
Royals pulled themselves together
after a time out called with the teams
tied 13-13 to take the game 15-13,
the match 3-0 and a provincial medal
for the second straight year.

Player of the Match: Ryan Henley