Showdown in Lundbreck: Sabres vs Dragons Girls Volleyball

Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice

Livingstone Senior Girls Sabres
C. Davis photos

The Livingstone Sabres Girls JV and Senior volleyball squads hosted their St. Michael's Dragons counterparts on the evening of September 27.  Six set of thrilling play ensued.  The crowd was treated to some great head to head action between closely matched opponents.

JV

JV Dragons vs Sabres

First up were the JV squads.    The first set saw the Sabres take an early lead, up 17-9 before the first time-out was called.  The Dragons brought their game up, slowly closing the gap, but not enough.   The JV Sabres took the set 25-22, with a successful serve ratio being one of the deciding factors.

The JV Dragons came on strong in the second set, getting ahead and staying there despite a big effort from the Sabres squad near the end.   The Dragons finished ahead 25-18.

JV Sabres vs Dragons

In the third set the JV Sabres took an early lead, but the Dragons tied it up 10-10 about halfway through.  Then it was 13-13...  The Dragons started to pull inexorably ahead, gaining and maintaining a 6 or 7 point lead before the Sabres rallied near the end, but it wasn't quite enough.   The JV Dragons won the set 25-22, to take 2 of 3 sets.

Seniors
The Senior Sabres Girls took an early lead in their first set against their Dragons opponents.  They were ahead 12-3 at one point, with the Dragons in disarray.  The Dragons never quite recovered, even though they put in a better showing in the declining minutes of the set, and the Sabres took it 25-17.

Sr. Dragons vs Sabres

The last two sets were mirror images of each other, with the Senior Sabres coming on strong, and in particular delivering some mighty fine serves that proved to be very difficult to return elegantly, if at all.  The Sabres crackled out there, taking both sets by scores of 25-19, going home with 3 straight in their pockets.

The Livingstone School gym was an interesting factor in the game.  It's a smaller room and brooks no errors, forcing a tighter, more controlled style of play.  It didn't seem to give either team the edge, because these girls are used to playing at each other's schools, but it certainly added a certain vehemence to the action. The ceiling is right there, ready to volley a wayward ball right back atcha, for example.

Sr. Sabres vs Dragons

The Senior Dragons were visibly disappointed with the evening's results, but really they shouldn't be.  The consensus from onlookers, including this one, was that we were treated to an evening of exciting, well-played volleyball, the kind that happens when two opponents are evenly matched enough to make it a real challenge for both. There was some great teamwork displayed on both sides of the net, and some great sportsmanship too.

The Senior Girls Sabres rocked the serve, and once they're on a roll, look out!

Note: A special thank you to Lundbreck's James and Mary Butler for their help with the video on this one.