Sometimes a handshake can be one of the most difficult things to do when it comes to the field of play in the sporting world. The vanquished are required to shake the hand of the victor and that’s not always easy.
Another difficult job in the world of sports, is to develop leadership skills in the midst of the battle.
Those two talents were required of South East Saskatchewan athletes on the volleyball courts last Saturday afternoon.
The boys volleyball squad accepted, what seemed to be, the inevitable as they attempted to do what no other team (including themselves during round-robin pool play) had been able to do during the entire Sask. Summer Games tournament — beat Saskatoon.
They did accomplish one thing, they took one set from the favoured Hub City squad, something no one else had been able to do, before succumbing to the numbing offensive attack from their taller and well-disciplined court foes.
They accepted their 25-22, 19-25, 7-15 three-set loss with a sense of pride.
While their male counterparts were forced to settle for silver, the South East girls were riding an emotional high throughout their gold-medal match-up with Rivers West (North Battleford, Rosetown, Kindersley).
The young ladies from this region were feeding off the passion and talents of an otherwise unassuming young lady, Jacey Rowland from Pangman who indicated early on in the match that defeat could not be considered an option. They hitched their wagon to that attitude and rode away with a two-set 25-11 and 25-13 victory.
Rowland elevated the level of play in her teammates plainly and simply. The leadership role, planned, or not, sifted to the surface gradually as the South East girls rolled through pool and semifinal play. That passion to succeed erupted in the finals, leaving their court rivals, and even their coach in a flabbergasted mode of deployment.
Led by the talented Rowland who provided steady serving skills, slams and tips at the net to unprotected floor spaces that befuddled Rivers West defenders, the Pangman powerhouse delivered a succinct message … not now Rivers West, not today.
“I got this team at the end of May. I had coached some of them before,” said coach Riley Singleton prior to the final game. “But they came together so well, match by match I saw them build team unity."
Following the contest, he said, “I didn’t totally expect this outcome, heck no, but these girls welcomed the challenge and the crowd obviously was behind them. That was a big factor and I was absolutely astonished at how focused this team was. They were dialed into this game and nothing and nobody was going to beat them.”
The South East boys were nearly as impressive on the cohesiveness front as their coach Patrick Winand, from Regina, spotted some early maturation among the young team he patched together in that same two-month period.
“Saskatoon plays a different kind of game, we knew we’d have to play our best defensively in order to make an impact,” he said. They did just that, stunning the Saskatoon gold medalist with their only set loss, before finally losing their edge to the relentless offensive powerhouse.
Regina captured the volleyball bronze on the male side with a three-set victory over Rivers West while Saskatoon earned the bronze on the female side with a win over Lakeland.
Olivia Kramer was the lone Estevan representative on the girls’ squad, playing a key role in the gold-medal game and the semifinals. The lone Estevan player on the boys’ team was Lais Lindquist who also met the challenges throughout the round-robin elimination games, as well as the finals.
