The SOSS seniors boys volleyball team will face some stiff competition in next week’s valley championships in Oliver. Here, the Hornets play Princess Margaret, which they defeated on Wednesday. (Photo by Lyonel Doherty)
Getting rattled on the volleyball court can quickly lead to costly mistakes and glum faces. That’s why playing “calm volleyball” is the key to winning games.
This is what co-coach Lauren Ibaraki is trying to instill in the senior boys team at Southern Okanagan Secondary School.
Beating the Princess Margaret Mustangs last week gave the Hornets the privilege of hosting the AA Okanagan Valley Championships this Friday and Saturday.
“Our matches with Maggie have all been filled with emotion and have been tough contests,” said coach Steve Podmorow. “Our schools have had a long standing rivalry in athletics and over the years they (the Mustangs) have been the dominant team in our zone in senior boys volleyball.”
But Podmorow said the Hornets have been working a lot on staying focused and putting forward a determined effort in their matches. “We are trying to avoid getting rattled and trying to play what my co-coach Lauren Ibaraki terms ‘calm volleyball.’”
Podmorow said the Hornets need to play solid defence in order to have success.
In the south zone final against the Mustangs, the Hornets passed the ball well, allowing them to establish an attack.
“When we can get our middle hitters going we do fairly well. Our guys scrambled well and won some key rallies,” Podmorow said.
The coach noted they need to work smarter to get out of rotations on serve/receive so that they don’t give up four or five points in a row.
“We need to be the team that is desperate to get the next point.”
Podmorow said something they could do to offer more challenge to other teams is to serve tougher.
The team doesn’t have any one player that dominates in all facets of the game, so success will come in solid team play, Podmorow said.
“We need all nine guys ready to contribute in ways that benefit the team.”
The players are Josiah Somerville, Will Kane, Tony Abellan, Tyson Marsel, Trevor Schori, Daelen Bontorin, Cobie Mackey, Devon Nemeth and Ethan Williams.
This week’s tournament will feature seven teams battling it out on centre court at SOSS and in the Oliver Elementary School gymnasium.
Podmorow said there will be three teams that will advance from this tournament and earn births to the AA Boys Provincial Championships in Langley Nov 30-Dec 3.
The Hornets will face the Mustangs again in their preliminary match, which determines seeding for the remainder of the tournament. “We hope we can come up with another strong effort,” Podmorow said.
He noted that George Elliott school is definitely the class of the tournament.
“It should be interesting. We hope that we can pull it together and gain a birth. We will need to be at our best,” Podmorow said.
By Lyonel Doherty
