Not for the first time in their athletic careers, the Hal High Red Hawks senior girls’ volleyball team tasted success on home court in Haliburton Feb. 12, winning a Kawartha championship.
After a dominant regular season where they dropped only one of 14 games, the girls powered through the competition during playoffs last week, securing their spot at the Central Ontario Secondary Schools Association (COSSA) regional finals, being held in Quinte Feb. 26.
The Red Hawks bested Norwood threesets-to-one in the semi-finals before dispatching Campbellford in the final 3-1. That game was marked by an impressive come-from-behind win in the final set to earn the victory.
Coach Janice Scheffee said the result was the culmination of years of hard work, with most members of the senior team playing together since their first year of high school.
“Most of these girls have played volleyball their entire [student] career, only one player on the team started last season,” Scheffee said. “The girls’ program has been successful for many years and continues to be competitive in the Kawartha league. This group of players found success two years ago as a junior team, when they won both Kawartha and COSSA titles. Being back together again, the team wants to experience the same success as before.”
Scheffee said the squad has been on a winning streak since early January, finishing their last two league tournaments undefeated – getting the better of schools with a much larger player pool to choose from.
With COSSA just a week away, Scheffee said the team’s goal is to play in the championship game.
The coach said the success enjoyed this season was a collective effort, with all 10 players contributing at different points of the year. The winning team includes Alivia Brown, Lilly Casey, Lara Gallant, Veronica Heasman, Jordyn Hurd, Delilah Kaytar, Addyson Parish, Hailey Smith, Kaitlyn VanderWieer and Madelyn Walker.
“Volleyball is a true team game, with serving the only individual skill. Everything else requires your teammates and that is how this team plays. Everyone does their job to make the team better,” Scheffee said.
“Coach Michelle Backus and myself were particularly impressed with our team’s ability [last] week to rally after losing a set in each match. Having had so much success this season, it was great to see that they could pull together as a team and make adjustments to come back stronger,” she added.
With the junior team also tasting Kawartha gold, winning its tournament in Campbellford Feb. 12, Scheffee said HHSS is becoming a true force in the sport.
“Volleyball continues to grow in our community. More students are coming in with a higher level of skill than before. We are fortunate to have a strong group of volleyball coaches in both the boys and girls programs who continue to raise the level of play for our teams,” Scheffee said.
