Queens come up short
Griffins 3 Queens 1
NORTH BAY, Ont. — National championships almost always comes down to execution, particularly tournaments where consistency in that execution over several matches is so important.
It’s a reality the RDC Queens volleyball team is dealing with after falling 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-19, 25-17) to the MacEwan Griffins out of Edmonton in the semifinal of the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national championship tournament on Friday.
“We just missed a little bit on conversion things,” said Queens coach Talbot Walton. “It’s the big if. If our passing was just a little better — like a metre tighter — or our digging, or if a set was maybe a little better, or our hitting . . . We were just off by a hair on some of our conversions. But MacEwan, they were on. They served really well, they passed the ball well and that’s where they beat us.”
The Queens were led by Jaclyn Neufeld with eight kills, two stuff blocks and seven digs. All-Canadian left side power Katie Graves add 16 kills, and Jessica Clutton 12 from the right side.
The Queens had high hopes of at least making it to the gold medal game, especially after going 19-1 through the regular season and then beating the Griffins 3-1 for provincial gold. But Walton says it was still a terrific season, despite coming up one game short of their goal.
“It was disappointing to lose in the semi, but the silver lining is we have a provincial championship that the team played really well for, and I couldn’t be any happier that we have that hanging in our gym now,” said Walton. “Our season wasn’t based on one game here.”
The No.2 Queens will now have to settle for a run at the bronze medal after being upset by the No.6 Griffins. That run begins today at 10 a.m. against a much bigger Humber College Hawks team in the bronze semifinal. The winner will face whoever comes out of the other semifinal between Vancouver Island University and FX-Garneau for the bronze at 3 p.m..
“The girls set their sights high with our program, they expected to be the best team out there and we came up a bit short tonight,” said Walton.
“Hopefully they have enough time to heal and find that competitive nature tomorrow.”
l In other action the No. 1 UBC Okanagan Heat beat the No. 4 FX. Garneau Les Élans 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-23). The Heat will now play the Griffins for gold today at 5 p.m.. The No. 3 Vancouvr Island Mariners beat the No. 7 Nipissing Lakers 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-16); and the No. 5 Humber Hawks beat the No. 8 Mount Allison Mounties 3-0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-16).
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.