The Porter Creek Rams did it in threes this season.
The team won the school’s third straight senior girls title at the Yukon Volleyball Championships at F.H. Collins Secondary on Saturday.
The title also marked a Triple Crown for the school - another three. They already won the Dawson Invitational Volleyball Tournament - a third consecutive year - and Whitehorse’s Super Volley league.
What they didn’t do in threes was win matches. The Rams went through the Yukon championship without a single match going to three sets; they won all of them in two.
“We’re pretty proud of ourselves,” said Rams co-captain and tournament All-Star Sam Wintemute. “It’s pretty bittersweet for the seniors because it’s our last season, but finishing off with the Triple Crown couldn’t be any better.”
“We started off as a group of individuals this season and we worked really hard to become a unit,” said Rams head coach Amy Palamar. “They brought all the skill that they individually have and mashed it all together and made the dream team.”
The Rams capped the three-peat with a 25-15, 25-13 win over the Vanier Crusaders in the final.
Porter Creek picked up steam as the final went on. After trailing in the beginning, the Rams caught the Crusaders at 8-8 and later went up 18-11 on four straight unreturned serves from setter Hannah Milner.
Milner, who like Wintemute was playing in her final high school game, was named tournament MVP following the final.
“I think the setter is the most important player on the court and she really sets up our offence very well,” said Wintemute. “And her serving was really on point this whole tournament and throughout the whole season.”
“She’s a spectacular setter, she works really hard, she gets to the ball and makes good plays,” said Palamar. “She’s just an asset to the team.”
The Rams claimed the first set on a service winner from co-captain Tayla NcNally and then a kill from Wintemute, her spike going off the net tape and over.
Wintemute (whose jersey is No. 3) put her team off to a good start in the second, registering an ace in a four-point run. She put in another unreturned serve to make it 23-13.
Following a missed Vanier attack, Rams’ Teah Dickson put in a big swinging kill into the corner for the win. Dickson was named Volleyball Yukon’s Female Athlete of the Year at the Sport Yukon Awards Night a couple weeks ago.
“I think we were at the top of our game,” said Wintemute. “We weren’t beating up on ourselves. After every mistake we just moved on from it.
“We couldn’t have played any better. We finished off very strong.”
Saturday’s win in the final marked another three for Porter Creek. It was the Rams’ third successful encounter with the Crusaders in a final this season, beating them in the final in Dawson, in Super Volley and now the Yukon championship. To Vanier’s credit, they dealt the Rams their only loss of the season during the Super Volley season.
Dawson City’s Robert Service School Knights took the senior girls bronze with a win over the F.H. Collins Warriors.
All-Stars
Olivia Holmes (Knights)
Avery Bramadat (Warriors)
Jiela Tobias (Crusaders)
Chloe Turner-Davis (Crusaders)
Sam Wintemute (Rams)
Tayla McNally (Rams)
MVP Hannah Milner (Rams)
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com