By Davie Wong
Rivalry week for players on the Royals volleyball squad did not disappoint. The Camosun Chargers came into the Royals home determined to find a win, and sparks flew immediately. Let's start with the women.
The ladies led off Friday night's bout with a huge set win. Big kills from nearly everyone on the floor contributed to a 25-16 final set score, and really established the pace of the game. The second set was much closer as the Chargers really turned up the intensity, grinding out a point after point. It was tight, but it was the visiting squad that managed to tie out the game at one set a piece, taking it 25-23.
The third set was where things started going a bit weary for the Royals. Some misplays and bad luck put the ladies in debt halfway through the set. While they surged back in the end, the Chargers had enough quality to close out the set to take the 2-1 lead.
With their back against the wall on their home court, the Royals made their stand. Unfortunately, things weren't going the Royals way that night. Balls that normally would've been smashed into the court flew a bit wide, and serves just took the wrong curves. Despite that, the team managed to bring it close, but it wasn't enough to triumph over the Chargers, who took the set 25-22, and the game, 3-1.
Disappointed but not dejected, the team had a chance to redeem themselves the next day. The ladies came out of the gates swinging with a fiery vengeance on their mind. Like the first game, the Royals found offense from all players on the court. Their next level delivery was too much for the Chargers, who fell to the Royals pressure, 25-19.
Learning from their mistakes from the previous night, the Royals continued to hammer the Chargers court, never letting up. Much of the Chargers points in the second set were due to Royals errors. Claudia Corneil was simply flawless on the court, always in the right spot, and always finding the ball. Her defensive play, as well as her teammates finishing ability gave the 25-16 set win.
The Royals continued their dominance into the third set. But this time the Chargers managed to keep up with them. However, the Royals were just a level above the Chargers on Saturday, and it showed in their clinical ability to put the ball onto the court. They closed the third set with a score of 25-20, and won the game 3-0.
After the game, Claudia Corneil took some time to talk about bouncing back from a tough loss, and re-finding their form in such a short period of time. "We played within our identity, which is something I feel we lost on Friday. Our block was really solid, and that helped me read where the ball was going."
Another player that had a big game was Georgia Hurry, who took some time to talk about her growth this year. "I feel a lot stronger this year, and I feel like I'm able to put away more balls this year." In particular to Saturday's game, Georgia echoed Claudia's appreciation of her team's effort. "Our ability to take care of the ball on our end really helped establish our middle, which let us play the sides better".
But as exciting as the women's matches were, the eyes were all looking towards the men's matches, where it was a PACWEST Championship Gold medal rematch, as well as a CCAA National Championship rematch. Needless to say, there was a lot of the line for both teams.
The Camosun Chargers team was nearly exactly as they were last year. Extremely hard hitting and momentum heavy. Give these guys a set, and they'll take the whole game if you aren't careful. Unfortunately, the Royals gave them a little too much swinging room. And when the Chargers swing, it usually hit the floor.
They hit the floor more than enough times to put away the Royals in the first set, taking it 25-16. The second set was only a little prettier for the Royals, who just got hammered by absolute bombs from the Chargers. They took that set 25-18, and went 2-0 up.
With the possibility of the team getting absolutely rolled by their rivals in the looming future, head coach Jay Tremonti gave his team some much needed words of inspiration. The team responded brilliantly, drawing out the third set until the dying points, in which they secured a set to attempt the comeback, with them winning the third set, 27-25.
With a comeback in mind, the men stormed into the fourth set, only to fall just a bit short, and have the Chargers close the door on them before they could complete it. They fell to the Chargers, 25-22 in the final set, giving them the 3-1 win.
Saturday's match threatened more of the same as the Chargers opened with a big set win, 25-19. But the men bounced back in the second, securing the second set 25-22 to tie it all up. The third set went all the way, as the Chargers looked to take the lead, but the Royals stood firm. In the end, it was a beautifully placed serve that ended the set, giving the Royals the lead, and the set 26-24.
However, the Chargers wouldn't go down without a fight, and they came back into the side swing like mad-men. The tactic worked and it gave them the fourth set in a rather dominant fashion, 25-18. The win forced a fifth and final set between the two teams, re-invoking the spirit of last year's rivalry. With a record to settle, the Royals jumped out to a massive early lead. They coasted their lead into a win, and beat out their Island rivals in five sets, taking the last set 15-10.
Devon Dunn had a massive game for the Royals, doing almost everything the team needed in a play. From digs, to sets, to kills and blocks, Dunn did it all. After the game, he took some time to talk about his form of late, and the transition from beach to indoor volleyball. "It feels really good to get one over the strongest teams in the conference. Everyone on our team is pretty much new, so to get this win feels really good. Our guys put up really good blocks today, so it made it really easy to play around them. Coming from beach has definitely been taxing on my body, but good coaches have helped me transition."
