Two different Churchill teams took to the court for the senior girls city title last week. One of them looked beatable.
But the Bulldogs wouldn’t roll over. In the end they didn’t falter, not after an 8-0 season in the public school league. Churchill managed to pull off a nervy, error-filled 29-27 first set against the host Van Tech Talisman and then cruise through the next two sets to cap their unbeaten season by winning the city championship in straight sets.
“The girls, they always find a way to bounce back,” said Churchill coach Pearl Ling. “They noticed the last few days they were having a slow start in the first set. We know their errors were mainly on serving.”
In the first set, the Bulldogs sent 11 serves either too wide or too long. The Talismen, backed by a loud home crowd, capitalized on the errors and took a three-point advantage at 17-14 before the gap closed and the lead changed half a dozen times.
The home side had four chances to win the opening set, but they couldn’t grab that crucial final point. Churchill’s brick wall of Anita Sengara, Cassie Bagnell and Tova Rae made the difference, and an accelerated outside attack found weak spots in Van Tech’s defence. Teegan Waton and Jacqueline Gladstone came through for a less experienced Talismen side, but Van Tech couldn’t sustain the tenacity of the first set and lost the following sets 25-6 and 25-14.
“That was a terrible start to our game,” said Aaron Lock, the Bulldogs’ co-coach who’s integral to the Apex Club program and is also a Van Tech graduate. He said returning to his high school, even after 15 years, put him in a heightened state. He felt the nerves just like the athletes did.
“They regained their composure. I had a talk with them beforehand and in this crowd, it was us against the world trying to get them fully prepared for being in the city championship match,” said Lock.
“With all their experience, they knew how to correct themselves, stay motivated and figure out a way to play like they normally play,” said Ling, a teacher who has coached the Grade 12 players since their Grade 8 season, the year they won the first of two consecutive city championships.
“It was nerves and jitters playing on Van Tech’s home court. There were all their fans,” said Ling. “They know how to take that energy and put it toward the game in a positive way. They’ve been in many situations when they’ve been down and have turned it around.”
All but one of the Bulldogs currently play club volleyball with programs like Apex and Thunder, and leftside hitter Sengara has an offer to play for Hunter College through the City University of New York.
The David Thompson Trojans finished third and defeated Killarney 3-1. The Lower Mainland tournament is later this month on the North Shore.
