5-5 Golden Bears make playoffs
[attach]1247[/attach]The Golden Bears are in the playoffs.
Although they lost their final game of the season on the road 2-0 (14-25, 23-25) to Humberside Jan. 27, the junior girls from Bloor advanced to the next round with a 5-5 record.
Golden Bears head coach Patty Barclay was impressed by how far her charges have come since the start of the season.
“Most of the students are in grade 9, so most of the girls don’t play club ball. So they have developed their skills a lot this year,” she said. “We’re going continue to work on our passing skills and continue to work on our services.”
The first set was awkward as Bloor failed to return serves from a potent Humberside offence.
Grace Underwood started the game off with two quick points, including an ace.
Responding to the challenge was Bloor’s Sandra Duong, who dug out low-flying balls and blocked Husky volleys over the net.
Sava Kayani had an exceptional game, Barclay said.
“What’s gone well is our teamwork, our calling (the ball),” she said. “We have three other coaches working with me and they’ve done a great job.”
With one game left on the schedule for Humberside, coach Darcie Vujacic was optimistic her undefeated troupe (9-0) will do well heading into the playoffs.
She credited Underwood and Sara Fassil with strong performances in the game against Bloor. Underwood racked up five points at the start of the second set.
“Our team has really strong service,” she said. “Their defence is pretty good, they’re in the right place at the right time — they know where to be.”
Their next challenge is Jarvis, where the Bulldogs sport a 6-2 record, after that the East Division of the South Region is a mystery, Vujacic said.
“We’d like to win,” she said. “We don’t know what to expect from the East yet. I’m thinking it’s going to be stronger.”
Once the regular season is finished up, Barclay wants to see how her team fares against schools with larger pools to draw from.
“In terms of schools, we’re what’s called a Single-A school, so we have less than 500 students,” she said. “Against Humberside, who knows how many (students) they have. It’s almost like we’re behind the eight-ball already.”