The Handsworth Royals senior girls volleyball team proved to be one of the most talented young groups in the province this season, scoring silver after running up against the one team that was both a little younger and a little more talented than them.
The Royals, defending provincial AAAA champs, weren’t necessarily favourites heading into this season given that six of their seven starters from last year’s championship team graduated, but there they were on their home floor Saturday night battling for gold again. This time, however, the biggest prize went to Langford’s Belmont Bulldogs, an upstart squad that won the title despite fielding a roster that did not include a single Grade 12 player.
“They’re just a very talented group,” Handsworth head coach Tom Oxland said about the Bulldogs. “They’ve been playing together since they were in Grade 6 or something like that, pretty much the same group of kids. They know each other well and they’re very talented. And they’re big. They’re really big! That’s a good combination in volleyball – to be that talented and be big.”
The Royals and Bulldogs actually battled twice at provincials, with Belmont also winning their opening round matchup 2-0. Fourth-seeded Handsworth rebounded nicely after finishing second in pool play, ripping off comfortable playoff wins 3-0 over Oak Bay, 3-1 over Kelowna and 3-0 over Semiahmoo to book a spot in the final.
With gold on the line, however, the Bulldogs attacked hard and fast, winning the first set 25-17 and then walking away with the second, 25-10.
“They just sort of kept on edging forward and making a few big plays – maybe when we needed a big kill, they got a big block or a big dig,” said Oxland about the Bulldogs. “They were playing really aggressively and they made very few mistakes, and we made a few too many. It wasn’t like we were playing poorly. … Almost everything they did worked, and almost everything we did didn’t work.”
The Royals pushed back in the third, taking an early lead, but couldn’t hold off the Bulldogs who took the set 25-22 to claim gold with a 3-0 match win. The Royals were left to come to grips with a bittersweet silver.
“They were disappointed because they felt they could have taken it and they felt that they maybe didn’t play quite as well as what they’d hoped, but I think they also acknowledged that Belmont played great,” said Oxland about his players. “Sometimes you have to go out and say, ‘Hey, today the other team was better.’ And I think that’s what they kind of came to realize.”
Belmont’s Savannah Purdy earned MVP honours, while Handsworth was led by setter/right side hitter Kayla Oxland and power hitter Sarah Curleigh, both of whom earned spots on the first all-star team. Setter Brooke Cheng, middle Leah Schwartz, power hitter Danica Dickenson and libero Maggie Lawson also played key roles for the Royals. Oxland credited his young team – Handsworth only had four Grade 12s on the roster – with getting better and better throughout the season.
“Way back in September we said what we want to do is peak at provincials, and we did,” he said. “They all came to this goal of let’s work really hard, not just on our volleyball skills but on our fitness, such that by the end of the season, by provincials, we’re doing the best we can and be playing our best volleyball. They said that was the goal, and that’s what they did. It worked – it really paid off.”
The longtime Royals coach said this may have been the most driven team he’s ever coached.
“There’s nothing like perseverance, and the ability to work hard, to push you forward,” said Oxland. “As a coach you just feel really proud that they do that, and you don’t have to keep harping on them to work harder. They just do it. This might not be the most talented team that I’ve ever coached – I don’t think it is – but in terms of working hard and trying to get better day in and day out, this might be the team that really embodied that.”
Oxland was also excited that his young players got to play at home in front of some huge, noisy crowds. Matches held during school hours featured raucous students cheering on the Royals, while Saturday’s final was also played in front of a massive group of Handsworth fans.
“It’s an experience the kids will never forget,” he said.
There are also up to nine players on this Royals team who could be back next year, and they likely won’t forget the young Belmont team that knocked them down to silver. Both squads will be a little older and wiser next season, and it’s hard not to envision them meeting again in some high-stakes matches, maybe even a rematch of this year’s final.
Oxland, of course, isn’t interested in making those kinds of forecasts, but admitted that his returning players will likely have thoughts of that Bulldog attack bouncing around their minds all offseason.
“I think they’ll be looking forward to playing them again,” said Oxland, adding that the players on both teams have gotten to know each other a little bit already, giving them a nice little friendly rivalry. “We really like them. It’s a nice, spirited rivalry now. You go out, the kids play really hard and then you can give each other a big hug and say ‘great job.’”
