Massey JV girls capture city volleyball title

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This article was published 07/11/2024 (325 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’d be tough to correctly guess Ayla Church’s favourite hitters.

The Vincent Massey Vikings setter spread the ball around all evening and her teammates put it away, to the tune of a 3-1 (25-15, 24-26, 25-12, 25-15) victory to sweep the host Neelin Spartans in the Brandon High School Volleyball League junior varsity girls’ final on Thursday.

Church piled up 28 assists to go with 13 aces, getting nine teammates on the scoresheet.

“It’s great. I love playing with every single person, not specializing with one specific person. I love being able to bond as a team, setter-hitter connections, all of that stuff,” Church said.

“Getting to know all of my hitters [was a challenge] because everyone is different, getting to know … where it works best for them to put it.”

Hollie Brugger had the hot hand, putting up 10 kills and seven aces, while Ella Van Daele posted three kills, two blocks and three aces.

The final series wasn’t easy. The Spartans pushed the Vikings to the limit in Tuesday’s first match before Massey emerged with a 15-11 fifth-set win on home court.

Neelin took the second set but started slow in the third and fourth, giving Massey the comfortable lead it needed to pull away. Kaylee Funk led Neelin with 10 kills and three aces while Olivia Koscielny put up three kills and nine digs.

Josie Martine racked up a match-high 15 digs.

Vikings head coach Rylan Metcalf was pleased with the whole group’s effort.

“Super proud of them. They’ve worked hard all season and we’re still trying to reach our main goal, which is provincials and winning provincials but this is an awesome step in the right direction,” Metcalf said.

“They’re super close and I think that’s what’s awesome about it is our team culture is awesome because all the girls are best friends. Bringing that every single day to practice knowing you’re with your best friends playing the sport you love and being able to compete against them makes you better as an athlete and a human being.”

Massey has been ranked in the AAAA top 10 most of the year and should enter provincials in the second of three four-team pools.

The teams play three matches to determine seeds for a 12-team bracket on Nov. 21, with the first two playoff rounds the following day and the semifinals and final on Nov. 23 in Winnipeg.

“Our goal is to win. The whole season our goal is to get better as athletes and individuals but our end goal for provincials is to come away with a victory and I think the group of girls we have has a lot of potential for that,” Metcalf said.

“We’re so excited, cannot wait, we’re counting down the days,” Church added. “Super excited to have the opportunity to go to provincials and play all these teams. Even if we don’t come out with the number one in the province outcome, it’s such a good experience for all of us and definitely improves all of us as a team.”

The Neelin girls head to a provincial qualifier in Virden on Saturday and will play the host Bears in the first round.

The varsity girls’ match ended after deadline.

Late Wednesday, the Neelin boys capped the 2-0 final sweep with a second-straight three-set victory over Massey.

The Spartans head to a AAA provincial qualifier in Swan River next weekend, while the Vikings will enter AAAA provincials as zone champions after defeating the Crocus Plainsmen in the semifinals.

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