Doyle leads Eden past Thorold

Near the end of a 3-0 victory (25-6, 25-12 and 25-19) Tuesday by the Eden Flyers senior girls volleyball team over the visiting Thorold Golden Eagles, Kaity Doyle showed why she was an easy choice to be named team captain.

“She goes crashing into the boards, we set her and she still finishes the play,” Eden head coach Bill Markham said. “She just never quits, she is positive and encouraging and the girls love her. She is a pleasure to coach.

“She is our vocal leader, our aggression leader and she is a fantastic player. I love her attitude and I love how hard she works.”

It’s not that unusual for a Grade 11 player to serve as team captain, especially if you have the mental makeup of Doyle.

“She has leadership qualities and character and she carries herself with authority,” Markham said.

The Hamilton Smash travel player practises every night with the Eden volleyball team and loves playing for her high school.

“It is a lot of fun and it is probably one of my favourite things to do,” the 16-year-old said. “We have a great sense of community at Eden and the volleyball team is like a second family.”

The 5-foot-8 left side is not 100 per cent sure why she was named team captain.

“I am pretty vocal and I like to cheer people on which is a good thing for a leader.”

Doyle is interested in playing at the next level but it will have to fit in with her academics. She plans to study math or health sciences.

Eden improved to 4-0 in league play with the victory.

“It was a solid effort from all of our girls and what I loved is that there were a lot of opportunities for a lot of different players,” Markham said. “They executed really well today and I was proud of them.”

Eden is enjoying another strong season even with a pandemic pause breaking up the campaign.

“This is a very strong team and it is unfortunate we won’t be able to go to OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) and SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) with this team because I think they can compete at the highest level but we will see. We are looking forward to our zone championship if we can get there.”

Markham is philosophical about the cancellation of OFSAA and SOSSA.

“If you think volleyball is only about winning, then you can get discouraged, but it’s not. It is about developing character and teamwork. That’s what we are doing and we have made the decision to make the best of what we are given. I am just glad that they get to play at all.”

Doyle would have loved to have seen how far her team could go this season.

“It is a little bit tough to not have the chance to go to OFSAA but maybe next year hopefully.”

Thorold coach Christy Graham was pleased with how her team performed Tuesday.

“Our girls want to be challenged and they like the challenge,” she said. “They are willing to step up, take those calls and have fun with it.”

Thorold fell to 1-2 with the loss but Graham likes how the Golden Eagles are progressing as the season goes along.

“We are a great team and we have a lot of potential to have a really successful season. I am interested to see where the playoffs go.”

Thorold will be contesting the Zone 4 Niagara Region High School Athletic Association AA title along with Governor Simcoe, Grimsby and Laura Secord.