A Killer Weekend

2 November 2023Inara W, Hope '23

First-term sports are finally in full force: if you walk around campus you find fields full of field hockey, soccer, and rugby players. And the volleyball courts are no different.

In fact, Brentwood hosted the Independent School Association Volleyball Tournament this last weekend, or as we Brentionans call it, ISAs. Independent schools from across BC travelled to play in this event.

Brentwood was lucky enough to enter two teams this year, Senior A and Senior B. This was the first big tournament for the Senior B girls, and they were excited to play some fantastic volleyball against 8 other teams in the Tier II pool. For our Senior A team, this was a test of their abilities as they would be playing against some of the top-ranked teams in the province.

Day 1 was round robins, with all the teams playing each other. Friday featured some great games and the energy in the Wheaton Gym was through the roof. Brentwood students packed the gym when our girls were playing, begging teachers to let them miss class to watch. For both teams, it was a successful, low-stakes day, with teams learning how the other plays to get ready for the playoff games. Mrs Scheck, the beloved coach for the senior B team, observed on Friday “We played well” and that the girls are “Ready for Saturday”.

As soon as you walked into the gym on Saturday you would notice that the air had changed – no longer was it a friendly tournament. Teams were looking for some hardware. The Senior A teams played some amazing volleyball, with incredible digs from the libero Ella K and “some of the best swings I’ve ever seen” commented Neha V, Alex ‘24 about Ella Wenhardt, whose hits no other team could seem to get up. The Senior A girls put up a valiant fight but, unfortunately, lost a couple of close matches to some of the top-ranked teams in the province and ultimately placed 5th in their pool.

The Senior B girls were poised to do well in their pool, and the whole team was pushing to bring home a medal. Each match that was played made the stakes higher, and that resulted in some ‘scrappy’ volleyball throughout the day, each player on that court was fighting for each point. Their hard work paid off, as an unfortunate loss in the semi-finals meant the team was playing for bronze. This game was intense, with team Captain Kara setting some dimes to the outside to secure the kill. Some crazy saves from the back-row players also kept the ball up. In the end, Brentwood secured the win – bronze in their own gym.

I want to thank Mrs Fougner, Mrs Scheck and all the organisers. Without you there would be no tournament. And to all the teams that travelled to play in our gym, you all made it an unforgettable weekend.

Inara W, Hope ‘24

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