Photo/Story Credit: Jessica Dempsey, Cranbrook Townsman
The College of the Rockies women's Avalanche volleyball team couldn't run a win past the Camosun Chargers.
With the last game of the semester, the 3-9 Avalanche were downed 3-0 on both Nov. 16 and 17 matches to the 7-3 Chargers.
"On our Friday match, we competed well but had struggles finishing. That's been a common occurrence," said head coach John Swanson.
"Camosun literally served us off the court. We serve/received very poorly – generally, and we couldn't get them out of system. They were in system all the time. Then we just got tooled off the blocks constantly and just not strong enough penetrating over the net."
The Avalanche have six points on the season, with only Columbia Bible College below them, who have not one a match.
"All teams in the PACWEST are going to be tough competition. Our record isn't great, but I think we can still compete," said Swanson noting he was impressed with how the Chargers served and received.
"When they are in system they just tooled us right, left and centre with lots of players."
Libero Megan Clark said the weekend wasn't indicative of how well the team is.
"I don't think we played to our full potential. I think we have a lot more to show then what happened out there. I'm excited for the second semester to see how we come and rise above and retaliate," she said.
While they didn't come out with the points on the weekend, there were still bright spots to be seen. A lot of young players were given the chance to play.
"It's always a positive to get some of those ladies on the court and get them an opportunity to experience some high-level college volleyball," said Swanson.
While there are no games until January, with the fall semester almost finishing, the team will still be hard at work practicing.
"There are somethings we have to work on. I'm not going to say we have to reinvent the wheel after this week, but we just have to be sharper and retool," said Swanson.
Injuries plagued the team early, which have made it tougher for them.
"It was frustrating just because we have some injuries and some players who have never really been able to play at 100 per cent, lots of teams have those kinds of issues … and we have had some players have to play multiple positions to cover those injuries," said Swanson.
The next half of the season will be tougher for the Avalanche, as a majority of their games will be on the road.
"Taking care of your body is super important, and having everybody on our bench. Regardless, our starters, everybody has to be ready because everybody is going in with four games it is exhausting," said libero Brooke Lightburn.
The Avalanche squad won't be back on the court until Jan. 11 when they take on the Douglas College Royals.