The Charles Hays Secondary School (CHSS) Rainmakers senior girls’ volleyball team was in action over the weekend in Terrace.
The squad played a winner-take-all, best-of-five set match against the Caledonia Secondary School (CSS) Kermodes.
Unfortunately, the Rainmakers lost in four sets to Caledonia (12-25, 14-25, 25-22, and 18-25). Brittany Waite, Suttira Johansen and Charlotte Kobza were named to the tournament all-star team.
According to assistant coach Krista Johnson, “this was still a great result for the team, and definitely was the best they have played this year”.
Coach Johnson talked about Rainmaker standout Tanveen Sahdra on the weekend.
“She had some really big blocks for us, and was one of our best at the net. Our team improved our skill set from last year. We lost three straight sets last year at zones, and scored [fewer] points,” Johnson said of her hard-working group.
Grade 12 graduates on the team include Tanveen Sahdra, Jenny Huynh, Charlotte Kobza, Medelana Jardim, and Henzle Masocol.
A number of the athletes will review their post-secondary options and may continue on in volleyball.
Head coach Jacqueline Jackson was also immensely impressed with her squad, who began their season attending a tournament in Hawaii.
“Playing against teams from such a strong community program is sometimes very intimidating. We went into the match emphasizing ‘one ball at a time’ and not to get caught up in the last play or match outcome,” said Jackson.
“Caledonia’s hard serves were difficult to return in the first two sets, but with strong serves from Suttira Johansen, some key blocks by Tanveen Sahdra and explosive attacks from Charlotte Kobza, we were able to take the third set. I am very proud of the players for working hard and staying together throughout the match.”
It was a tight-knit team, and with such an excellent coaching staff, great experience was gained playing high-calibre teams like Caledonia. With strong, motivated athletes coming up the ranks from the junior girls’ team, the future seems bright for the Rainmakers senior girls’ volleyball team.