DiBacco leads Flyers to zone title

The host Eden Flyers senior girls volleyball team entered the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Zone 4 AAA final Wednesday against the West Niagara Wolfpack as a team in transition.

“Both of our setters we started the season with are out with concussions and we’ve had to rearrange things,” said Eden head coach Virginia Kent, moments after her team put the finishing touches on a 3-0 (25-14, 25-15 and 25-9) victory. “Mattea DiBacco, who was our player of the game, has lots of experience setting but she has been our lib (libero). It has really changed our flow of the game and it is a different game than how we started. We are really trying to get things jelling as we move to SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) now.”

Kent has all the confidence in the world with DiBacco setting.

“She is a player who can play any position you put her in on the court. She has tons of experience at the club level and she has been a part of Eden volleyball from the beginning. She is our co-captain and such a leader on our team in skill, knowledge and demeanour.”

The Grade 12 student takes pride in her ability to play wherever she is needed.

“I try my best. I play libero for my club team but I have been a setter for the last six or seven years. They have also thrown me in to hit a couple of times. I’ve played left side, I’ve played right side.”

The 17-year-old has a strategy to cope with changing positions.

“It is important to be good at everything, have a baseline for every skill in volleyball and be a well-rounded player. It’s practising everything and being open to anything at practices, school or club. I like being libero the most but it is fun to set, especially with such a good team of well-rounded players.”

DiBacco set for the first time at a tournament the Flyers won last Friday at A.N. Myer.

“It was great to have that tournament to settle into things and this week I will be doing it all week in practice to get ready for SOSSA,” said the 5-foot-8 player travel player with the Defensa Volleyball Club.

DiBacco’s older sister, Olivia, is a decorated Canadian wrestler, who last year lost in the finals of the Olympic trials.

“I did wrestling for one year when I was seven but it was not for me. I am not a contact sports person.”

Her older sister plays a role in her volleyball career.

“She is probably my biggest role model in sports with her work ethic and her drive every day. She is always so inspirational for me throughout my entire childhood.”

Other members of the championship team are Camry Brubacher, Jaelyn Cameron, Hailey Czegeny, Hailey Epp, Megan Esau, Alyssa Gaspich, Ema Kovac, Kara Kunselman, Camila Mendez Cabal, Blake Neufeld, Maria Silvestri, Ellarie Unruh, Tessa Vlatkovic and Jenna Vrolijk.

Kent described the zone final as a great match.

“We rose to the competition eventually. It was a little bit of a rough start but we started to find our groove.”

She is happy with where her team is at heading into SOSSA Feb. 20 at West Niagara.

“We still have to fine-tune a bunch of things and get comfortable with our new lib and our new connections and flow as a team but it is really coming together.”

DiBacco is excited to see what happens at SOSSA.

“There will definitely be some good competition at SOSSA but I think if we play up to our potential and everyone hustles like this team always does, then I think we have a really good shot.”

West Niagara came into the Zone 4 final thinking it had a shot.

“It was a great match. We knew coming in it was going to be a tough one but we were the only team to take a set off of Eden all season,” West Niagara coach Sarah Bacchus said. “We were super excited but it just didn’t work out for us today but the girls really gave it their all.”

She likes where the West Niagara program is heading.

“This was the first year that I thought we could rally Eden for the zone final. Each year we get stronger and better and we are looking forward to coming back next year.”

Bacchus saw improvement in the program this season.

“We had better communication and teamwork and we definitely had stronger left sides. All of those things came together,” she said. “We just have to keep improving and getting stronger and working together as a team.”