Yukon Sports Report

Competitive high school volleyball continued late last month with Super Volley heading to F.H. Collins Secondary School for two nights of matches before the semifinals.

Things got underway on Oct. 20 when the Vanier Crusaders travelled to take on the F.H. Collins Warriors, and action continued on Oct. 21 with the Porter Creek Rams facing off with the Warriors.

Crusaders beat Warriors in girls match

Oct. 20, 2021: Vanier 3 – F.H. Collins 2 (25-11, 25-22, 23-25, 22-25, 15-10)

The Vanier Crusaders girls volleyball team continued their winning ways, completing a five-set win against the F.H. Collins Warriors to remain undefeated and earn a bye into the Super Volley girls final.

Vanier won 25-11, 25-22, 23-25, 22-25 and 15-10.

Players of the game were Ally Bonilla for Vanier and Tenisha Mayes for F.H. Collins.

Warriors hand Crusaders first loss in boys match

Oct. 20, 2021: F.H. Collins 3 – Vanier 1 (25-23, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23)

The F.H. Collins Warriors boys volleyball team kept dreams of a bye into the Super Volley finals alive with a 3-1 victory against its Riverdale rival, the Vanier Crusaders.

F.H. Collins won 25-23, 21-25, 26-24 and 25-23 to even the record at 1-1 between the two teams this season.

Players of the game were Emerson Wild for F.H. Collins and Sebastian Tajonera for Vanier.

F.H. Collins girls cruise past Porter Creek

Oct. 21, 2021: F.H. Collins 3 – Porter Creek 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-11)

A quick start by the home team in the opening set forced Porter Creek to call a timeout down 9-2. From that point on, the Warriors were able to maintain the lead and take the first set 25-18.

It was a another similar story in the second set, with an 8-1 lead for F.H. Collins translating into a 25-20 win despite scoring runs from the Rams leading to two Warriors timeouts.

In the third set, the Warriors put a bow on things with a 25-11 win to take a 3-0 victory.

Players of the game were Abbey Campbell for the F.H. Collins Warriors and Serena Stewart for the Porter Creek Rams.

Campbell said the Warriors have been focused on the three “C”s – communication, celebration and coverage – all season and that avenging the early-season loss to Porter Creek showed how vital that work has been.

“That’s what we go over every practice, so that’s what we added to this game and that’s what we worked on,” Campbell said. “We always have to have our energy up first and then we just have to keep that energy high, not let it drop.”

When the energy level of the team drops, that’s when mistakes can creep in, Campbell explained.

Luckily, the home crowd can give a boost as well.

“It’s the best feeling ever,” Campbell said about playing in front of the fans. “After starting the season, I was so happy we could actually have people watching us – that we could play against other schools. It’s just a great feeling to be back.”

Warriors beat Rams in boys match

Oct. 21, 2021: F.H. Collins 3 – Porter Creek 1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-17, 25-17)

Having beaten the Crusaders the night before to keep hopes of a bye alive, the F.H. Collins Warriors took care of business at home against the Porter Creek Rams in four sets.

The Warriors won the opening set 25-21, but the visiting Rams responded with a 25-18 win in the second to knot things up at 1-1 after two sets.

From there, F.H. Collins was able to win both the third and fourth sets by identical 25-17 scores and earn a bye into the Super Volley final with the 3-1 win.

Players of the game were John London for F.H. Collins and Rylan Coates for Porter Creek.

“This game, we really came together after the second set,” London said. “I think we were able to pull it together as a team.”

The Warriors coaching staff used the final match of the round robin to give playing time to most of the roster, something London said will benefit the entire team.

“Coach wanted to play everybody and see how they played in a game because playing in practice is opposite ends to playing in a game – it’s quite different,” London said. ” I feel like a lot of players don’t feel confident enough to play in games, and we’re only as strong as our weakest man, so we have to rise up as a team rather than as six players.”

When the Warriors take the court next, London believes they will be ready.

“It’s just team-building and communication,” he said. “We have the technical ability, we just have to work on our communication and our team.”

Super Volley standings

With the third week of Super Volley in the books, the girls standings have Vanier at 4-0 and both Porter Creek and F.H. Collins at 1-3.

Vanier earns a bye into the Super Volley final with the best record, while Porter Creek and F.H. Collins will face each other in the semifinal.

In boys competition, both Vanier and F.H. Collins are 3-1 and Porter Creek is 0-4.

F.H. Collins earned a bye into the finals by virtue of points scored, leaving Vanier and Porter Creek to compete in the semifinal.

The semifinals are Nov. 4 and the finals are Nov. 5, both at F.H. Collins Secondary School. Matches begin at 5 p.m., with the second match of each day scheduled for 7 p.m.

Following Super Volley, the next major competition will be the YSAA Senior Volleyball Championships from Nov. 25 to 27, also at F.H. Collins Secondary School in Whitehorse.