The Saint Maur Girls Varsity Volleyball Team travelled to ASIJ over a two day period on the 16th and 17th of October to compete in the annual Yujo Tournament.

The tournament started off with a game against CAJ JV (You can check out the games here). With a strong start of 7-0 with many aced serves from our seniors, we were able to win the first set with a score of 25-14. In the second set, the CAJ JV stepped up their game and we unfortunately, due to the fatigue from the long bus ride and previous set, lost the second set with a very tight score of 23-25. In the final set, fortunately the girls were able to bring back their solid play with a strong finish of 15-6 in the final set.

Following immediately after the first game vs. CAJ JV was a game against the ASIJ Varsity team. Due to an immense difference in height and strength, we were unable to fight back and let an immense lead of 4-13. Despite an effort to make a comeback, this first set ended with a score of 7-25. Similarly, in the second set, the Cougars allowed a lead from the start, ending with a score of 6-25.

The second day started with a game against the ASIJ JV team. Throughout the entirety of the game, the Cougars hustled very hard to keep a tight score. Unfortunately, the first set ended with an unlucky score of 20-25. In the second set, the momentum was taken by the ASIJ team, and we were unable to bring a comeback with an end of 15-25.

Our final game of the tournament was a 5th/6th determining game against CAJ JV, a team that we beat in the previous day of the tournament. Although the girls had confidence through our win against them last year, being unable to still escape the mindset of the previous game, the first set ended with a loss of 18-25. However, in the second set, despite both teams playing to their best and keeping a very tight score, consistent playing led us to win by 25-20. And in the final set, the Cougars finished strong with a score of 15-8, with some kills and killer serves.

The Saint Maur Girls Varsity Volleyball Team finished 5th out of 6 teams, however learnt a lot along the way that we hope to practice for our second tournament of the season taking place once again at ASIJ on the 6th of November.

by Luna S.

Varsity Volleyball - Saint Maur v YIS (SENIOR NIGHT)

On Wednesday night the Varsity Girls Volleyball Squad made the long journey over the road to YIS for one of our last matches of the season. It’s always fiery and fiesty when we play our friendly rivals next door. Even with no spectators, there was still a palpable intensity in the gym. (You can check out the games here).

From the get-go the game was as we expected - scrappy, unpredictable and unorthodox. Despite our best efforts to stay in the rallies, a string of strong serves in the middle of the set saw YIS pull away to a comfortable lead.

The second set had more of the same, although our courageous Cougars were able to stop any run of serves through some much improved passing. This was highlighted by our freshman player, Alana, who stood centre-court and took a hard serve in stride, landing a perfect pass on our setter’s head. This fearlessness in the face of pressure is what we aspire to in Saint Maur volleyball. In fact, this set saw some of the longest rallies of the night and even our whole season. There were more bump-set-spikes on our side of the net than any other game, which was great to see.

Speaking of Freshman, a coach’s highlight for me was to see Lea get the most minutes she’s played all year. Every touch she made was a good one, so she kept earning herself more playing time. As she grows in confidence she’ll be an awesome player to watch for the future.

A couple more highlights - Eru took an amazing spike off her foot and the girls around her reacted quickly and carried on the play, resulting in us eventually winning the point. Yurina hustled all over the court and even managed to take a set ricocheting off the basketball backboard on the ceiling (she also showed her toughness by playing through some tough leg cramps in both legs later in the game).

In the third set the YIS coaches took the 2-0 lead they had to let some of their bench players have a game (this was after all their first game of the season!) We were able to take care of business with some solid play, winning the third set. Unfortunately, we couldn’t carry the momentum over into the fourth and YIS pulled clear in the end.

But our main goal is to keep getting better and even though the results haven’t gone our way the past few weeks, we can still be proud of how our girls are continuing to work hard and improve in the little things that will make them better volleyballers.

It was also senior night - the night where we celebrate our seniors who have made so many contributions over the years.

• Renge: We’ll miss your energy, enthusiasm and dives all over the court. It’s a shame the season is coming to an end right when you’re starting to get some awesome kills!
• Eru: We’ll miss your leadership, your calming presence and your volleyball wisdom (not to mention your beautiful sets and amazing serves!)
• Yurina: We’ll miss your hustle on the court, covering every ball possible (even if a soccer bicycle kick is needed) and your quiet determination to win.
• Arisa: We’ll miss your powerful aces, your jumping on the spot every time you are grumpy with yourself and your admirable work ethic.
• Kirari: We’ll miss your smile and perpetual positivity. Thank you for always putting the team first and being such a valuable member of our squad.

Next weekend we play our final games at our tournament at ASIJ. Wish us luck!