The Porter Creek Rams junior girls had every reason to see themselves as the favourites going into the Pepsi Yukon Volleyball Championships.
They would not be disappointed.
The Rams won the 9/10 girls title with a 25-17, 25-15 win over the Vanier Crusaders A team on Saturday at Porter Creek Secondary School.
“Every girl - all 14 of them - had a job to do and they all pulled it together,” said Rams head coach Kasia Leary. “They earned every single point and they were able to play their own game regardless of what was happening. And they didn’t let their emotions get the better of them.”
RELATED:See slideshow of the tournament.
The Porter Creek team had a spectacular season. The Rams went undefeated at the pre-season Early Bird Tournament in Whitehorse. They won their division of the Dawson Invitational Volleyball Tournament in late October. They also went through the regular season in Whitehorse without losing a match.
They even won last week’s championship without dropping a set.
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“I’m pretty proud,” added Leary.
The Rams took control of the final right away. After a kill from middle Teah Dickson to make it 13-5 in favour of the Rams, co-captain Sam Wintemute put in two aces and two unreturned serves to go up 18-5. The Rams then claimed the set with a kill from Tayla McNally.
Dickson then made three blocks to help boost her team to 10-8 over the Crusaders in the second. Back-to-back kills from McNally and three unreturned serves from Wintemute closed out the match.
Her prowess at the net gave Dickson the Tournament MVP award.
“She was able to take control of the team when things were getting a little complicated back there,” said Leary. “She was able to step up and was able to come out swinging. She wasn’t hesitating at all.”
“I was really surprised, actually,” said Dickson of the honour.
“We played hard, we deserved it,” she added. “This was the best season I’ve ever had. We just stuck together through everything.”
Vanier’s B team took the bronze with a loss to the Vanier A team in the semifinal.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com