Elphinstone Secondary School appears to be ready for championship success in the coming years with its girls volleyball program.
The bantam girls finished 4-2 in the regular season with home wins over Collingwood and Sutherland and road wins over Carson Graham and Argyle.
The Cougars defeated Argyle 3-0 on Oct. 29 in the first round of the playoffs, but dropped a 3-1 decision to St. Thomas Aquinas in the North Shore Premier division semifinal on Monday, Nov. 14.
Elphi rebounded from that loss to edge Windsor 3-2 to win the consolation playoff game and are now the number three seeded North Shore team for the upcoming Vancouver and District play downs on Nov. 18.
“There are two divisions of 18 teams, so to come third is pretty awesome,” said co-coach Jane Ostashek, who coaches alongside Jacquie Shelemey and Taylor Whittall. “We have 21 girls on the team this year, and we have travelled with a different roster for every game. We’ve tried to get everyone involved, and it’s worked out pretty well.”
She said winning both home games was a highlight for the team.
“Getting to play at home is sometimes a rare thing, so it was a great experience for all of them,” Ostashek said.
Ostashek credits both the strong elementary school feeder system and the Coast’s club volleyball program as contributing factors to the team’s success.
“They all have a lot of skill and they all are very dedicated,” she said. “We were holding practices at 8 a.m. and everyone was there raring to go. That shows the level of commitment that they all have, and to have that at this young age is going to be beneficial as they move on.”
The junior girls season was just as impressive, if not more so, after going through the regular season with a perfect 6-0 record.
The Cougars opened the playoffs with a 3-0 win over West Vancouver on Oct. 30, edged Windsor 3-2 in the North Shore semifinal on Nov. 3, but dropped the North Shore final to Handsworth 3-0 on Nov. 5.
“It was a great season. Handsworth was a solid and very consistent team and they really never let us in the match,” said head coach Dan Tsuji, who co-coached with Shannon Whittall.
“This group has certainly come a long way. They have changed a lot as players and overall are very strong. I think being undefeated going into the final against Handsworth shows that.”
Tsuji too credits the elementary programs that Elphi draws from as well as the club system here on the Coast for making sure players have a strong foundation before they reach high school.
“I think it really is a natural progression for many of them,” he said. “They all get a chance to play in the club system and travel off-Coast against high calibre players, which gets them prepared for competitive high school play. The Grade 9 team is also very strong. I’d say for the next three or four years you are going to see some very strong teams at Elphinstone.”
