A shared journey that began way back in Grade 6 for several members of the Handsworth Royals senior girls volleyball team ended in gold last weekend at the provincial AAAA championships held in Nanaimo.
The Royals, featuring a core of Grade 12 players that first united at Cleveland elementary, knocked off Surrey’s Earl Marriott secondary 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-19) in the championship final at Vancouver Island University. The win was the first provincial title for the powerhouse program since the Royals won three straight from 2008 to 2010, and follows fourth-place finishes in the past two championships. It was quite a way to end a journey that for several players began more than half a decade ago.
“There were a lot of tears, that’s for sure,” said head coach Alan Ahac, who has followed the team all the way up the ladder. “It was a nice finish to a long, tough journey.”
The Royals came into the tournament ranked No. 1 but got a scare right off the bat when the South Delta Sun Devils – a program that won provincial titles at the AAAA level in 2012 and 2013 before claiming the AAA crown last year – took the opening set of the first match.
“We were scared that first match,” said Ahac, citing first-game jitters and South Delta’s reputation as reasons for the trepidation. The Royals, however, fought back and claimed a 2-1 win. “We were very relieved to make it through that match with a victory.”
From then on it was fairly smooth sailing for Handsworth as they dropped just one more set while cruising into the semifinals where they faced Port Coquitlam’s Riverside secondary.
“That was probably the toughest match we had of the tournament,” Ahac said of Handsworth’s 3-1 win over Riverside, who went on to win bronze.
In the final the Royals faced the Mariners for the second time in the tournament after beating them 2-0 during pool play.
“They’re very young, extremely well-coached,” Ahac said of the Earl Marriott squad. “It’s one of those teams you always worry about because you know their coaching is really good, their skills and fundamentals are strong, they’re going to have good tactics, their coach knows how to win in those circumstances.”
In the end, however, Handsworth had more experience and firepower, and ran away with a decisive victory to claim the title.
“We came out and set the tone. We were confident and patient,” said Ahac. “While Marriott played very well, we were pretty patient in sustaining long rallies. We maintained our composure and kept coming at them, and that’s where they couldn’t sustain it. … Our experience showed through in the end. That’s really the key, I think.”
Handsworth’s Nicola Ros, Maya Bennett and Danika Ahac – Alan’s daughter – were all taking part in their third provincial championship tournament since joining the senior team in Grade 10. Ros was named MVP of this year’s tournament.
“She certainly deserved that,” said Alan Ahac. “She was easily the best setter in the tournament. She attacked really well as well.”
The second-best setter may very well have been another Handsworth player as Kayla Oxland was named to the tournament’s first all-star team. The Grade 10 student is the third Oxland to earn all-star status for Handsworth, following MVP older sisters Emily and Rebecca.
“She’s living up to the family’s reputation, that’s for sure,” said Ahac. “My only regret is that the Oxlands have no more kids.”
Having both Ros and Oxland on the floor at the same time is a luxury that few high school teams can come close to matching.
“That was a real key for us. Strong setting, and both of them also strong attackers,” said Ahac. “In essence everyone on our team can attack when they’re in the front row. And we have a lot of balance because of that. … It’s very rare that you have that kind of balance. Most high school teams will have two or three good attackers. We really had six.”
Some of the other big boppers included left side Danika Ahac and middle Danielle Corrigan, both named to the tournament’s second all-star team.
“Danielle Corrigan certainly showed herself to be one of the top middle blockers in the tournament,” said Ahac. “Early on in the final she had a number of big blocks and big hits which really gave us tremendous momentum. She’s been doing that all season.”
Danika Ahac, meanwhile, was strong offensively and defensively.
“She played extremely well,” said her proud papa. “She made a lot of good defensive digs for us, as well as being one of those six good attackers.”
Alan Ahac also noted that there were several other players on the deep Royals roster who could have been all-stars – one of the all-star selectors admitted to him that it was tough limiting the Royals to just five. Regardless of the accolades, Ahac said he’ll always remember this as a team that grew tighter and tighter over the years and topped it all off with a championship.
“The result is nice, but the journey was the highlight,” he said. “The sequence of the commitment, the dedication, the time, the trials and tribulations – in many respects, the highlight was the journey and the result was kind of like the icing on the cake.”
