Bulldogs punch ticket to OFSAA
The Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs are peaking at the right time.
The Bulldogs are heading into OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) on a roll after winning six straight sets to capture the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association senior girls AA volleyball championship Friday at Holy Cross.
The Bulldogs defeated Dundas 25-22, 25-13, 25-20 in the final following a 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 win over the E.L. Crossley Cyclone in the morning semifinal.
Sir Winston coach Brent Mergl was thrilled with the sweep.
“The way we played today was the what I envisioned when we started back in December,” he said. “This was the team I envisioned.”
The Bulldogs overcame their share of adversity this season and now appear to be playing as well as they have all season at the most crucial time of the schedule.
“We hadn’t see it all year because we battled injuries and illness and just weird things happening at weird times,” Mergl said. “It’s been the craziest year ever for that.”
Mergl said several of his charges play at the club level as well, which can be a double-edged sword.
“A lot of the girls are playing club too so it’s a lot of load management. We really had to work on our passing because three of the girls who play club, two of them don’t pass in club and we lost two good passers from last year who graduated so we really struggled in the beginning,” he said. “We spent a lot of time grinding out passing. It’s not a fun thing to do but the girls figured that’s what we needed to improve on. They listened and we passed really well today.”
Mergl said the Bulldogs also excelled at turning the page Friday.
“If we made a mistake on a serve or something or they made a good play, we were able to side-out right away.”
Mergl has high hopes at OFSAA, which begins March 4 in Sydenham, near Kingston.
“This could be the team. If these girls play like they did today and play to their potential and abilities and not just be happy to be in game and expecting to win, we have high hopes.”
Members of the team are: Morgan Barker, Aiyauna Bredin, Garbielle Bright Buffong, Norah Hoff, Ava Hollingshead, Ava Lukey, Anya Namestnik, Emily Pathe, Mya Pupek, Charlotte Ross, Shannen Short, Kate Smyth, Selah Strickland, Tesia Wilson, Rylan Kormos.
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