The Norwell District Secondary School Senior Girls’ volleyball team concluded its season earlier than hoped with a silver medal performance at CWOSSA on Feb. 20.
After going undefeated in league play and winning the District 4 championship in three games straight over Orangeville’s Westside, Norwell advanced to the regional tournament in Guelph.
Norwell was the defending five-time champion, hoping to capture gold and advance to OFSAA in Thunder Bay.
Norwell began round robin play with a slow start in set one against Southwood from Cambridge. After falling behind 10-3 the team rallied, but ended up losing the set by two points. The girls rebounded to take set two, but Southwood played a strong third set, winning 15-13.
With their backs against the wall in a must-win game, Norwell faced Sacred Heart out of Walkerton. Norwell made quick work out of the Bruce County champion with scores of 25-10, 25-16.
Norwell then advanced to the semi-finals against Guelph’s Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes battled hard, however Norwell escaped to the finals with a close two-set victory.
In the final, Norwell was unable hold back the Brant County Champions from Paris High School. Norwell team worked hard, but struggled to thwart the strong outside attack by Paris, who were recent additions to the AA championships.
In each set, Norwell was fighting from behind. In the end, Norwell scored 18, 21, and 20 in the three-set loss.
“It was a disappointing season-ending result for the team, but the coaches were happy with the effort and the constant fight the team put in during the final day and throughout the season,” team officials state.
Team members are Sara Driedger (Moorefield), Laura Rumph (Drayton), Becky Bults (Alma), Jessa Ziegler (Harriston), Kaitlyn Wynja (Harriston), Justine Levesque (Palmerston), Nicole Haveman (Harriston), Madeleine Charlebois (Harriston), Brandi Grose (Drayton) and Sam Brown (Drayton).
