Riverdale pursues AAAA berth
[attach]1270[/attach]A lack of potent serve reception on Riverdale Raiders senior girls volleyball team led to their demise in straight sets.
Making the South Region playoffs by finishing fourth in the east division, the Raiders spent Feb. 8 hoping to play darkhorse to the undefeated Humberside Huskies.
But instead Riverdale’s defence was over-powered by a stalwart service from Humberside 14-25 and 16-25, coach Karen Gallagher said.
“I think that our serving got better as the day went on but our passing and our serve reception was very sporadic,” she said. “In the long run, that’s what hurt us because once we could get the ball up in the air we could play pretty evenly with them.”
By no means is the quarter-final loss an end to the Raiders season, as they qualify along with Northern for the AAAA championships.
Gallagher admits there will be fortifications to break down.
“We’ll have our work cut for us out there, certainly,” she said.
Keeping the Raiders spirits up throughout the season and the playoff match was Simone Hodgson, who tallied two strong services in the first set and performed solid in the second.
“Simone, actually, is our rock,” Gallagher said. “She’s so consistent that she keeps everyone grounded and settled.”
With the Huskies win, they advance to the semifinals to facing rival Oakwood, who sunk North Toronto Norsewomen 2-1 Feb. 8.
Huskies spiker Mari Pikkov is ready to put her best dig forward in the semis.
“They’re a good team and I just hope we can put up a good fight and pull it out in the end,” she said.
Her coach, Edgar Kirss, echoed her sentiment.
“This is the best team I’ve had at Humberside in the last seven years now and I hope we have a legitimate shot for OFSAA,” he said. “If the girls realize that than they should do very good.”
He commended Pikkov, a grade 10 playing senior, as well as under-21 national beach volleyballer Melissa Humana-Paredes as the anchors of the team.
“We have a balanced team,” Kirss said. “We have veterans, young kids and they just play well together.”
Though Oakwood does not concern him, Kirss said Lawrence Park Panthers might prove to be the biggest threat in reaching the South Region finals.
“I think we’re going to try and stick and work on our defence because our regional final will be against Lawrence Park who is a team we have lost once to this year,” he said.
Still the strategy for the Raiders in their pursuit of OFSAA through the AAAA path will be to focus on shutting down their foes’ potential for aces.
“We’ve got a good week and a half to do so, so we can make improvements,” Gallagher said. “We can always make improvements.”