The Saugeen DSS Jr. Boys volleyball team continues to gain valuable experience competing in a number of tournaments. The Royals first traveled to Guelph for the annual Centennial tournament (Fri. Oct 4). After round robin play, the team placed second pool ‘B’ and played the first place team from pool ‘A’ Our Lady of Lourdes (Guelph). Unfortunately, a couple of points did not go in favour of the Royals and they fell 24-26 and 23-25.
The next day, Sat. Oct 5, the team traveled to Owen Sound for a tournament. Coach Smith decided to play the younger team members permitting more court time to develop their skills and, while results were scattered, he was happy with the progress made. It is a jump to move up from elementary volleyball to high school, the pace of play and positioning is a challenge to learn.
The most recent tournament was a big success as the SDSS boys returned home as tournament champs from Barrie North SS. After completing round-robin play, the boys were in a three-way tie for first place. After applying the tie breaking procedure, SDSS found themselves once again second in their pool and having to play the first place team from the other pool. This time the Jr team controlled play and won two straight sets 25-14 and 25-16.
The final match would be against Innisdale (Barrie) who fought a tough semi-final match against the host school Barrie North. Strong serving and improved communication allowed the Royals to win the tournament and control the entire match. Cameron Smith and Shaan Banday showed much improvement in the tough middle position. Lucas Moore continued to learn the setters duties, while Colton Legge, Jake Lawrence Dave Taylor and Adam Perry took care of outside hitting.
In between tournaments, Saugeen has participated in four matches of Bluewater league (BAA). The first two were won in straight sets over John Diefenbaker and Kincardine. The next two were lost in straight sets versus Sacred Heart and John Diefenbaker. Coach Smith decided to split the team and, therefore, have all the players gaining valuable court time with the end goal being total team improvement. This allowed the younger players to play all six sets of BAA play while the other half of the team competed in Barrie. The team members competing in second day of BAA matches were Talan Martin, Charlie Gallop, Josh Van Myall, Finlay Hendry, Braeden Warnell and TJ Verburg. In the second half of the season, the team travels to Uxbridge and St. Thomas for their last two tournaments and will compete in a number of BAA matches to finish the regular season. The next home date is Tuesday, Oct 29th.