The evolution of the Pen High Lakers senior boys volleyball team continues.
Last week, the Lakers, ranked 10th in the AAA provincial standings, lost to the Kelowna Secondary School Owls in a match that coach Anita Toneatto felt they should have won. They then defeated the Okanagan Mission Huskies in three sets.
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“We hadn’t played them (Huskies) before, so it was nice to see how well we played and matched up against them,” said Toneatto. “We had a few monster hits in the match which is always exciting, but even moreso was the way everyone was playing defence – the boys are really developing that part of their game.”
The only thing Toneatto didn’t like about the players’ performance against the Huskies was their missed serves. She loves that the players are working hard in practice and that they respect the talents of their teammates. The Lakers are a deep team and Toneatto said it’s great to have confidence in putting someone in off the bench.
Recently, the Lakers have been trying different things in tournament play to see how they can better adjust to match-ups. David Paisley is taking on a new position as libero and has been going all out on defence. Dan Everton played left side and had some great hits from both the front and back row.
“Solid, consistent play is coming from the rest of the crew as we try to discover where our strengths are,” she said.
As for their ranking, Toneatto said it is nice to be where they are, but added it can be difficult to see the accuracy of the rankings when all teams aren’t playing against each other. This weekend the Lakers will have a chance to climb rankings in George Elliot. Toneatto said having as many teams as possible from the Okanagan Valley high in the rankings gives the chance for more provincial berths.
“Regardless of where we are currently ranked, we are hoping our valley teams stay in the top 10 to make it easier to get to provincials, which is our goal,” she said.
On Wednesday, the Lakers will travel to Mt. Boucherie to play the Bears, who are ranked fifth.