Women’s team misses playoffs, heading in ‘right direction’
The Huskies men’s volleyball team have seized a prized playoff spot in the OCAA playoffs, and is set to take on Sheridan College in the first round.
Huskies coach Josh Nichols explained that during the month of February, the team was not guaranteed a playoff spot until late in the semester. Due to this uncertainty, the team was forced to play and win a lot of meaningful matches down the stretch.
The team turned strong play into a three-game winning streak over Georgian, Algonquin and La Cite. Those wins, according to Nichols, allowed them to capture a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
While the Huskies had a strong start to February, they have suffered two loses thus far this month. According to Nichols, the Huskies remain assured in their game. “To finish the semester we lost two tough games to Centennial and Seneca. Even though we lost our last two matches we are confident in the style of game we are playing right now. ”
Nichols added, “I believe those challenging matches have prepared us well for an elimination game. We are looking forward to the challenge of our playoff match versus a really good Sheridan team.”
The Huskies women’s volleyball team were not successful in their playoff pursuit. They endured losses to Algonquin on Feb. 5, La Cite on Feb. 6 and Centennial on Feb. 13. The Huskies season officially ended on Feb. 17 with a 3-0 loss to Seneca.
“I think we have to try and put the ball on the floor, and we were not doing that. We just can’t score points when we are not scoring points,” said middle hitter, Julia Vitt. “These games mean a lot to me as a middle hitter and when we’re not making smart decisions, we miss opportunities to score.”
Coach Dana Cook said that she believes the team made great strides and improvements throughout the season, but they were disappointed in not achieving their main season goal, the playoffs.
“The league’s level has improved overall which is a great thing. All the teams we played were notably better than last season and we did perform well against some top teams,” said Cooke. “We took sets off of teams we never have before and overall are going in the right direction even though its not quite as fast as we would like.”
There were flashes of greatness and chemistry throughout their games, but overall they lacked execution as a team down the stretch.
After falling to Seneca, Centennial and LaCite College in their last 3 games of the season, the women’s Huskies volleyball team finished their season with a record of 3-17.
