“It’s an absolutely massive, massive achievement…It helps put our school back on the map in terms of volleyball. We really were at the bottom of the barrel for the longest time.” - Mr. Leca
Recap
The finals of the ROPSSAA girls volleyball championships was fraught with buzzing excitement and eager anticipation, even the pregame warmups. The crowd turnout for both teams was impressive and the energy was electrifying. The game started out fairly neck-and-neck, with points going back and forth. However, St. Martin was on top of their game once they gained momentum, winning the first set 14-25. When asked, the St. Martin's coach replied that they were “feeling good, but weren’t done yet”; on the other hand, the CPSS sideline felt nervous.. After the first set, it seemed like St. Martin was more reliant on strong performances from individual athletes while Central had to make their strategy and teamplay work more effectively to gain the upper hand.
Once again, the second set started out quite equal, except the Griffins now had the slight upper hand. St. Martin looked sloppy and Central capitalized on that. The crowd went wild each time either team scored, especially for the home team. Supportive applause rang out when either team made a mistake too, keeping spirits high. After a timeout at 15-10, the Griffins were energized by Mr. Leca, who was simply rearing to go. St. Martin lost all momentum they had and it seemed as though the game would head towards a thrilling finale as Central was set to cruise towards an easy set win at 21-13. After another timeout, St. Martin pulled a comeback that broke the heart of every Griffin in attendance to win 12 straight points. Despite a valiant effort with epic saves and serves alike, the Central girls could not stop the onslaught. Post-game, you could tell that both teams were respectful of and respected by each other, thus showing the great sportsmanship displayed by both teams. St. Martin celebrated ecstatically while the crowd streamed onto the gym floor to congratulate and comfort the home team, who looked on, knowing that next year the trophy would be theirs.
Interviews
The volleyball team kicked off their after-school party with a lighthearted game of volleyball, probably a welcomed change from the intense, high-stake games played last week.
The MIVP (most improved player) was awarded to Maarij Zia. For this award, Mr. Leca addressed the whole team and stated how “[This award] could’ve gone to any player – everyone did something new! However, one student has come so far that she actually earned a spot during gameplay…Maarij!”
The two leadership awards were given to Hetvi Patel and Harleen Shokar. Harleen was described as someone who “brought club experience, a leader and calming force in the team. And you usually don’t hear that, you know, calming force. But she brought that composure during the game.” As for Hetvi, she was simply, yet sincerely, described as a “team captain -- she’s a leader on the court”
Avneet Kaur won MVP, and was described by Mr. Leca as the, “X factor with a high level of experience that helped us over lots of humps. That kind of thing can really only happen when you have a player with experience like that.” While the rest were busy with their game, she was on the sideline due to a minor shoulder injury. We took the opportunity to ask her a few questions.
How does it feel to be finalists?
“I think our team did a really good job, we’re a group of people that work really well together. I’m not disappointed but sometimes I wish we did take the gold. But of course, that happens to anyone in that situation. Overall, it feels really good. It feels like we turned things around for our school.”
What were your expectations before the season?
“Even when I played in gr 9 -- I knew we had an athletic school. Not necessarily specifically in volleyball but the girls are good at any sport they get into. Because there were no specialists in the sport, I just didn’t know that we would do so well in volleyball. But it was a good surprise! As the season went on I was pleasantly surprised, and as time went on I began to consider us a volleyball school, not just an athletic school.”
How does it feel to make history for girls at Central Peel?
“I feel amazing. I think we did amazing. Like Mr. Leca said, people did things in the game that they’ve never done before. It’s just a high level of game that we’ve never gotten to play before”
How did the crowd atmosphere make you feel?
“It did make me a little nervous, because I was anxious about messing up in front of them. But at least for me, I’ve been playing for so long that some stuff is second nature, even at my worst, I was doing okay. But the crowd definitely helped me. It’s one thing to be booing when people mess up, but it’s another thing to be supportive. They never booed when we messed up, but cheered when we did well.”
Who was the toughest opponent?
“Definitely the last game, finals against St. Martins”
What do you guys believe to be your biggest strength?
“I would say as obvious as it is -- to be a team. No one gets down on each other when someone makes a mistake. No one is getting mad on the court, or frustrated. Everyone’s in control and we’re able to pick each other up pretty well. It’s easy to get in your head when you make a mistake, so it’s nice not having the extra pressure from your teammates.”
What are your aims for next season?
“I hope we get to the ROPSSAA finals again, and maybe our results will be different next year. I’m really happy with how we did this year, of course, but I think it’s a good goal to set for next year.”
We were grateful to receive Mr. Leca’s insight as well.
This was the first season after the pandemic, did that mean you had to do some things differently?
“The biggest difference was we had more time to prepare. The season started in the middle of October, and we didn't finish until April, that’s 6 whole months. Usually you only get about 3. And we took more advantage of it than other schools did, by practicing as much as we could. I think that really helped us in the championship.”
What are you most proud of?
“Just the team, just the girls, how much they accomplished.”
How does being finalists stack up to previous volleyball results at central?
“It’s an absolutely massive, massive achievement. Last time a volleyball team from Central Peel got to the finals in ROPSSAA was in the 1980s, it’s been 40 years. It helps put our school back on the map in terms of volleyball. We really were at the bottom of the barrel for the longest time. When I was at other schools, we looked at Central Peel as an easy win but we’re changing that reputation.”
Is there anything in particular that the team could have done better?
“Maybe focusing more on blocking would’ve helped us in the finals, even though it didn’t really matter in the games while getting there.”
What are your aims for next season?
“Next year we want to do the same if not better. Repeat what we did this year and hopefully take home the championship. One important thing to note is that there are 4 grade 12s that are graduating from the current team, next year we’ll only have 3-- so the rest will be grade 10s coming in. The team will definitely look different but we still want the same results.
They sure can count on us Griffins cheering them on, well deserved!
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