Third time charm for Bulldogs at SOSSA
After 2018 and 2019 losses to Westdale in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AAA senior girls volleyball final, the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs finally got over the hump last week.
Churchill head coach Brent Mergl credited maturity for his team’s breakthrough that earned the program its first berth to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ championships in about five years.
“We were really young last year with mainly Grade 9s and 10s, and the last two years we have been young,” Mergl said. “This year, the girls are that much more mature and better. They have confidence on the court and they believe they can win.
“And they are a real tight, cohesive group.”
Team captain Jenna Pollock agrees maturity was the key ingredient in the team’s performance at SOSSA.
“We have all gotten used to playing with each other and we have all come together as a team this year,” the 6-foot-2 player said. “Other years, we were a team but this year we figured out how to play with each other. We figured out how each player played and what each player needed in certain situations.”
The 16-year-old Grade 11 student realized the Bulldogs had a chance to get to OFSAA during a tournament in Ancaster early in the season.
“We were playing really well and I thought if we were playing like this, we should be able to make it all the way,” said the Burlington Defensa travel player.
Mergl felt his team was building momentum all season.
“I think a couple of our players who don’t play outside of school have just gotten better at each step and there was no letdown. By them raising their play, it has made a huge difference when everyone is strong.”
Pollock relishes her leadership role with Churchill.
“I tried to be verbal, pick up the girls and be positive on the floor because that helps a lot,” said the 2019 Team Canada member.
Pollock was a clear choice for captain.
“It is her demeanour, She never gets upset and when things go wrong she is the first to call all the girls into the middle and have a little huddle to settle everybody down,” Mergl said. “They all look at her to make great plays and she does.”
Those great plays are contagious.
“The best part of it is she elevates everybody else’s play too,” he said They strive to be good.”
Churchill needed to be good to get through SOSSA.
The Bulldogs played Ancaster in the semifinals and won 3-2 (25-6, 19-25, 22-25, 25-19 and 15-10).
“Both teams were nervous the first two sets,” Mergl said, “It came down to a best of three and everyone stepped up their game. We knew our top players would be our top players but it was everybody else that did their jobs and did them well that allowed us to win.”
In the final, Churchill defeated A.N. Myer 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-14 and 25-19)
“I have to give A.N. Myer credit. They played extremely well in the first set and they dug everything and everything they touched turned to gold,” he said. “They were outstanding and very inspired and our girls were started to get frustrated.”
Mergl told his squad to relax and calm down because it would be hard for Myer to maintain the calibre of play it displayed in the first set.
“They started to falter a little bit in the second set, but it was still a great game,” he said. “In the third set, the scales started to balance. Then we started to come on and gain some confidence.”
Mergl expected to be seeded in the eight to 10 range when the 16-team OFSAA tournament starts Monday in Chatham, but the Bulldogs ended up being ranked sixth.
“I tried to tell the girls that I like walking in as the dark horse,” he said. “We are not that well known, we have one player that’s really well known and couple of other girls playing high level club.
“Hopefully we can make a statement and we have set a new goal now. We want to be one of the top two teams in our pool because that gets you to a meaningful quarter-final game on the championship side. Then anything can happen.”
And anything could happen in 2021 as well. All of the team’s starters will return next season.
Members of the squad, coached by Mergl and Tammy Short, are Aaliyah Alfieri, Megan Barker Kaley DeMont, Julie Hiscock, Olivia Krieger, Alissa Laundry, Isabella McInnis, Kennedy Millin, Stefani Mrkalj, Sarah Nolan, Pollock, Yaz Savas, Allyson Sentance, Lauren Vanecko, Ava Venneri, Sadie Braun and Marrin Haskell.
