Flyers remain unbeaten in league play
Ella Landry is a key cog in the fortunes of the Eden Flyers senior girls volleyball team.
“She is one of our setters, she is a natural leader and her serve is what really establishes things for us,” Eden head coach Bill Markham said Wednesday, after the Flyers defeated visiting West Niagara. “If we can, we like to have her start serving and that sets the tone for the rest of our game. She is a really good leader, a solid player, totally committed, consistent and a great person.”
He has seen the second-year senior take another step in her game this year.
“She has come a long way. She has always been a good setter but this year I have really seen a shift in her mindset into how can I make everyone around me better? She has always been a good team player and this year she has become a really good leader.”
Landry agrees with her coach’s assessment.
“Last year I was a Grade 11 and I was quieter on the team. This year, I have taken the time to get to know people more and be more encouraging and think less about the technicalities of playing volleyball. It’s knowing what it is to be a good teammate and what is it to have good team camaraderie.”
She played six years of travel volleyball starting with the Niagara Rapids and concluding with two seasons with the Smash program in Hamilton. She took a break from travel volleyball this year to hone in on schooling.
“I wanted to focus on school because Grade 12 is a stressful year,” she said. “I want to go into nursing and I wanted to get good marks. I didn’t want to focus on more than one aspect and driving to Hamilton for volleyball was a lot. Now I am able to have school, sports and a lot of other different aspects in my life.”
She is glad to get her volleyball fix with the Flyers.
“I love volleyball and my teammates. It is really helpful to get through school because it give you a break from everything else and I get to play with people I enjoy spending time with.”
She would love to end her high school career with a bang.
“I am really hoping we can make it to OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) this year. I have been to OFSAA for field hockey but never for volleyball. It would be a perfect touch to end my Grade 12 season with.”
Before heading to nursing at Brock this fall, she is planning to take a gap year and go to bible school in Austria, Sweden or France.
Eden improved to 5-0 in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association play with the 3-1 victory (25-22, 25-17, 23-25 and 25-22) while West Niagara fell to 3-2 with the loss.
“It was a really exciting game. We took one set off of Eden, the girls played well and we had lots of great plays and some great rallies,” West Niagara coach Sarah Bacchus said. “It was fantastic on both sides and I was really proud of everybody.”
It was the first time the Wolfpack had ever won a set off the Flyers.
“We were very excited for that today.”
Bacchus likes where the program is heading.
“We are a new school and we are developing. We are trying to build up a lot of momentum, getting into tournaments and there’s a lot of development going on,” she said. “We are excited for what the future holds. Our juniors are doing really well and they came second in the Brock tournament. We have lots of players who will be coming up and we will see where this season goes.”
Markham felt West Niagara gave his squad a tough test but he wasn’t thrilled with his team’s play Wednesday.
“We did not play very well today for a couple of reasons. The girls season is different than the guys season in that it is broken up into three chunks. We get large breaks, exams are next week and a lot of them are really feeling the pressure of exams and that’s more important,” he said. “We were missing a lot of players too but give them credit. They played really well, they did what they needed to do and they pushed us. Good for them.”
Markham feels the Flyers have tons of potential.
“It will be how dedicated we are to what we are trying to accomplish as a team. We are still not executing on all cylinders.”
