Toilers Edge By Cyclones On Way To City League Final
By Robert Thomas
There are many adjectives which could be applied to Tuesday evenings’s high school senior girls semifinal volleyball match up between the Peacock Toilers and the Central Cyclones.
But boring isn’t amongst them.
It was five hard fight sets between two competitively matched teams who fought tooth and nail for the victory.
The gym was about 70 percent full in the stands with let’s just say the most bared down and colourful fan costumes to grace Peacock’s gymnasium in the last couple of years.
The match saw the Cyclones jump with a 2 - 0 set lead against the Toilers in the best of five set play.
Despite the lead the Cyclones could not polish off the Toilers who fought back and won the match with a 3 sets - 2 sets score.
At least two Peacock fans got down to the bare truth of their support for the Toilers - mj independent photo
Set scores were:
Peacock 20 Central 25
Peacock 17 Central 25
Peacock 25 Central 15
Peacock 26 Central 24
Peacock 15 Central 9
In the first set the Toilers were up 9 - 1 only to have the Cyclones overtake them from behind and win the set.
In the fourth set the Toilers were ahead 22 - 16 with a seeming easy finish, only to have the Cyclones almost over take them in advance to the city league final.
“It was a strange night. It was a strange night. You would think it was Halloween tonight the way we were playing,” Lorne Polupski, head coach of the Peacock Toilers told MJ Independent in a post game interview.
“You know there are no excuses. Central played great. They are coached well and those girls played awesome. They played their hearts out and it showed,” Polupski said.
“We deserve the first two sets because we didn’t earn it. We deserved the last three sets because we worked our butts off.”
Peacock Toilers Rayleigh Petruic celebrates a point made in the third set - MJ independent photo
Although the Toilers and Cyclones have been in an old Western style battle in the Moose Jaw city league they’re also fighting each other to qualify for the 4A provincials.
This year is special because the 4A senior girls provincials are being held at Vanier Collegiate. It’s a fight to perhaps win the provincial crown on the closest thing to home turf.
“You never know how things are going to work out, playing them because they’re that good,” he said.
Polupski said the Toilers started slower because they were working on some different rotations that were just being introduced at the semifinals.
“We were trying to get used to each other. Actually, we just started a rotation last night and implemented it here. It took us until the third set to implement it properly.”
A major reason for the new rotation are injuries are still plaguing the Toilers.
On Tuesday evening the Peacock team still has four players who are injured and as a result four junior girls have been called up to fill the senior girls teams’s ranks.
Peacock Toilers Ellie Panko chips the ball over the net I have to go - mj independent photo
“We may have been a little bit nervous, but I think our rotation and our injuries are the main problem. We just have to get over the hump and get used to playing with each other in different positions,” he said.
Asked if the team had any fear of the Cyclones given they’re stronger than usual performances against the Toilers this year, Polupski said they didn’t.
“I wouldn’t call it fear it is just good competition. We expect the same battle from them at regional and maybe even in provincials.”
This coming weekend the Toilers are scheduled to meet the Cyclones at the volleyball regionals being held in Regina.
Peacock Toilers Jakson McAuley (right) sets the ball while teammate Chantel Howe looks on - mj independent photo
“Do you know what those girls played hard. We need to sit down and look at some tape and we’ll go from there,” he said.
Asked what he was looking forward to given that the regionals are being held this weekend, and then following that there are the city championships and finally the provincials Polupski said he’s taking it one step at a time.
“ I’m looking at the first set our game on Friday night. We are going in one point at a time and that’s what I’m going through it all,” he said.
This year the Toilers had a goal of making the city finals something that they achieved by defeating the Cyclones.
Peacock Toilers Paityn Dempster bumps the ball - MJ independent photo
“We just have those goals right now and once we get there then we’ll aim high. We are not done,” he said.
The other major goal Peacock set for themselves at the season’s start, was to make it into provincials. This weekend in Regina at regionals whether or not the Toilers achieve that goal will be decided.
Asked, given what was seen as a slow start at the beginning of the season, looking back did those goals now seem reasonable, Polupski said they did.
It’s all about the continual rebuilding the Peacock Toilers every season.
The Peacock toilers set the ball up for a spike attempt - MJ independent photo
“ Do you know what at the first of the year every year it feels like we’re rebuilding all of the time. We have to build around a couple players and it’s the same thing this year as well.”
Having to call up four grade tens, due to injuries on the senior girls team was tough but at the present time everything looks positive with integrating them into a winning squad.
“We have a couple of grade 12s we’re building around. You saw the grade tens we brought up for tonight and three of them played on the court quite a bit and one grade 9…do you know those girls did well. They are going to get more comfortable the game I’m thinking next week and the week after,” he said.
Peacock toilers Alison Coulson-Brown attempts to tip the wall just over the oat reached hands of two Central cyclone defenders - MJ independent photo
For Polupski one of the big things taken away from recent play, as well as Tuesday night’s game was that the all important grade 12 players are performing well.
“The grade 12s are key to our success and I think everyone else just plays into that momentum they have, and we just keep rolling,” he said.
Peacock toilers, Jill Polupski sets the ball - MJ independent photo
For Central Cyclones head coach Joe Gunnis the loss to the Toilers was disappointing, but he’s very happy on how well his team played.
“You know obviously everybody disappointed that we weren’t able to finish it up and go to city’s but you know you have to give them credit for playing hard and coming back. And finding the ways to win,” Gunnis said.
He said the final results came from minor errors but the Cyclones worked hard when behind, and came close to catching up and winning.
“That’s the way volleyball goes. We just made a few too many errors in some of those last three sets. That’s all so. But you know the girls, battled and in the fourth set we came back. The girls battled really hard.”
Central cyclones Adison Simpson sets the ball - MJ independent photo
Asked about the first and fourth set when the Cyclones were down by eight points, and seemingly out of the match at that point how did they make the comeback Gunnis said the answer was hard work.
“You have to have that gumption to go. When they put it in gear it’s fantastic and so again I’m very proud of them. I’m proud of them for battling. I’m proud of them for battling for every point and not giving up. Because that’s how you get better.”
A major high point for the Cyclones this season has been that after five years of failing to do so they were able to defeat the Toilers.
Central cyclones Chloe Johns ball against the toilers - MJ independent photo
Asked about Tuesday’s match where you could not pin the loss on a single factor, and how just a slight off touch in a rally could be the difference.
“You know something sometimes the volleyball gods are just not with you. And you doesn’t work out in your favor. But it wasn’t for lack of effort.. but it wasn’t for lack of understanding, the game, or being aggressive, or those types of things.”
“That’s all we ask of our team to come out and do the best that you can,” Gunnis said.
Central cyclones Keira Cushway reaches back to bump a ball that nearly got away from her - MJ independent photo
Asked about the Cyclones league play Gunnis said the team is happy on how that turned out.
“As far as league play goes we’re very happy. We play our best in league play. You know with a newer team, with some young athletes, and that type of thing we really improved,” he said, adding “yeah so I’m really happy with them. We’re happy on how the league went.”
Gunnis said the Cyclones would have love to beaten the Toilers but it’s just how things went.
“I think the biggest thing for us is that we improved all year. And now we still have our goals of coming regionals and advancing to provincials,” he said.
Central cyclones Chloe Giraudier moves into a group of teammates to bump a ball - MJ independent photo
“We have our goals and the team knows where we want to be so they’ll work towards that. This team is resilient. I’m proud of them. They worked hard and they battled hard. That’s all we can ask of them as coaches.”
Central cyclone player dives just short in an attempt to dig a ball - MJ independent photo
The Moose Jaw city league finals for senior girls and senior boys volleyball will take place over two evenings’s.
On November 14 at 7 PM the Vanier Spirits will face the Peacock Toilers for the high school, senior girls volleyball crown.
The match will be played at Sask Polytech.
On November 15 at 7 PM the Assiniboia Rockets will face off against the Central Cyclones for the high school senior boys volleyball crown.
The match will be played at Sask Polytech.
