The Glebe Collegiate Gryphons senior girls’ volleyball team qualified this season to compete at provincials for the fifth year in a row.
The Glebe Collegiate Gryphons senior girls' volleyball team qualified this season to compete at provincials for the fifth year in a row.
The team advanced to the quarterfinals before they were defeated in two sets by Aurora High School last week.
The provincial competition, known as the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA), championships took place on Mar. 4 and 5 in Toronto. The Gryphons won their initial pool of competition on the first day, winning all three games. However, the team lost their quarterfinals match, which knocked them out of the competition. They ranked among the top eight teams in the province.
Kirk Dillabaugh, the team’s coach, said the girls played strongly on the first day, but made more errors on day two.
“We came out a little flat in our quarterfinal match, unfortunately,” he said. “It’s a little frustrating … If we had played the same way on Wednesday that we had on Tuesday, I feel that we were worthy of a medal.”
Despite the disappointment, the team accomplished its goal of improving from last year.
“We just want to keep building,” he said.
The team advanced to the quarterfinals last year, and lost, but placed second in its pool.
Dillabaugh, who started as head coach this year, has worked with the team in the past and said winning this time was an accomplishment.
“We were dominant the first day we were there,” he said.
The team’s strategy was to eliminate the opposition’s opportunities to get points and when they do that, the team can beat anyone, he said.
In its initial matches, the team wasn’t giving up many points. One of the teams they beat, Forest Heights Collegiate, ended up winning the bronze medal. Sinclair Secondary School, in Whitby, won the championships.
This is the fifth year in a row the school has competed at OFSAA after victories at the city championships.
Dillabaugh described this year’s team as somewhat weak in their volleyball skills, but one of the best teams in terms of athletics.
Only two team members play volleyball competitively, outside of high school athletics, but many others are accomplished in a number of other sports, he said.
One of them is Cynthia Bowles, who was named the school’s top female athlete of the year in 2007. Other school sports she plays include badminton, basketball and rugby.
This is her second year on the volleyball team and she feels this team was especially close.
“There’s a lot of bonding,” she said. “There’s a lot of teamwork and working better together takes away any negative energy.”
Dillabaugh focused the team’s last practice on defeating specific teams that the girls would be up against and keeping the ball away from certain players.
“They’ve got to make smart choices when they put the ball over the net,” he said.
Most other practices usually concentrated on improving individual skills.
Despite the impending competition, the girls all wore smiles at the final practice.
Becky Billings, the team’s captain, said she was just excited to be going to OFSAA.
It was her third, and last, year at the competition. Billings is a senior and will be graduating this spring.
She was hoping this was the year they would win, but was still happy with the victory at the city championships and their improved performance.
“I think we did great for a team that doesn’t practice too often together and has struggled throughout the season,” said Billings. “We came up against a hard team in the quarters.”
Both Billings and Bowles, who is also graduating this year, hope that next year’s team will be able to continue the school’s tradition of winning the city championships and competing at provincials for the sixth year in a row.