As tears streamed down the Vanier Spirits faces, their hopes of playing in the league final faded. A feisty Peacock Toilers team defeated them in four sets in their senior girls semifinal volleyball action on Tuesday evening.
“It was a really tough loss. The girls took it hard…a lot of emotion and a lot of tears shed,” stated Vanier’s coach Rick Bell. “But, that’s sports — someone has to win and someone has to lose.”
It was a close game that saw some nerves take over the two teams in the first set, but once the girls settled down, the flow of the game happened quickly and it was exciting volleyball.
“You can feel the adrenaline in your body. I know there was a lot of service errors out on both sides because you have so much energy and so excited,” said Peacock’s coach Jenn Prokopetz. “I think the girls really felt the importance of this game and with the adrenaline, there is that much more energy flowing through the ball.”
Peacock won the opening set 25-19 and the second set 25-22. Vanier battled back to win the third set 25-22 and force a fourth and final set that the Toilers would win 25-17.
“I think we were really prepared for this game,” said Prokopetz. “We have a lot of respect for Vanier as a team and they have been playing so well as a team. I think the girls really knew that they had to stand up and play really well tonight.”
Vanier battled throughout the match, but found themselves on the wrong side of some very long rallies. They tried their best to overcome by blocking a lot of shots and making some circus shots and digs on the ground.
“Some rallies we were on the wrong end of and some tough serves and missed serves at crucial moments,” stated Bell. “Just not able to defend some of their rolls that they were able to stop and that was our downfall, as it has been all year.”
For more on this story, read an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
