The Sir George Simpson Voyageurs surprised themselves by sweeping Thursday’s Tier I city final.
The lady Voyageurs downed the Richard S. Fowler Falcons in three sets to complete an undefeated season in St. Albert Physical Education Council junior high volleyball.
“In our league we went to five sets against them so we were surprised,” said Simpson captain Alyssa Muzyka after the 25-20, 25-19, 25-13 victory at Bellerose Composite High School.
“We were nervous going into it but we’re happy with the outcome.”
The last match between the top two SAPEC girls’ teams ended 25-20, 20-25, 25-18, 27-29, 15-9 for Simpson on Oct. 13.
Simpson also defeated Fowler 3-0 in exhibition action and 2-1 in the semifinals of the SAPEC tournament.
“We knew Simpson is a very strong team but we knew we had a chance to beat them because we played them in five sets before,” said Fowler captain Teagan Gomes of the only team the Falcons lost to this season. “We thought it could go either way but it just didn’t go our way today.”
Simpson had dropped only five sets before the final as the team to beat.
“There was a little more pressure since we were undefeated but we pulled through in the end,” said Muzyka of the 10-0 Voyageurs.
Fowler (8-2, 26 GW/8 GL) was no slouch either this season.
“We’re both great teams, they just played better today,” Gomes said. “Simpson played a very good game. They’re a hard team. They have a lot of skilled players. They deserved to win.”
The first set was a back-and-forth affair with very few point runs and plenty of defensive gems by both teams.
Simpson rattled off five consecutive points after Fowler knotted it at 20 as the Falcons struggled with Muzyka’s serving down the stretch.
In the next set, Simpson outscored Fowler 8-2 with well-placed balls to the floor to lead 16-11 and never looked back.
Fowler climbed back into contention to trail 17-16 but a five-point run, with Lauryn Psutka providing some solid serves, pushed Simpson further ahead.
“It really boosted our confidence when we won the second set so we had more momentum going into the third,” said Muzyka, who slapped the ball for the 25th point.
Simpson ratcheted up the attack in the third set, highlighted by a nine-point scoring spree for a 19-9 stranglehold as Bella Gaulden made most of her serves count.
Muzyka, 14, was also responsible for three of the team’s last six points with a combination of pinpoint hits and serves to seal the deal.
“We had good communication going and we played hard,” said Muzyka.
The Grade 9 middle was named the player of the game for Simpson and libero Ivy Cequena was the Fowler recipient.
Gomes, 14, described the result as unfortunate for the Falcons.
“We usually hit more harder, we just had less hitting this game,” said the Grade 9 setter. “We just didn’t play as well. We couldn’t get the passes up and they had some really strong hits. They also missed less serves.”
Despite the loss, it was major breakthrough by Fowler to reach the final. The 25-16, 15-25, 25-21, 25-22 semifinal outcome against the Lorne Akins Gators (5-4) put the Falcons in position to win their first SAPEC banner in girls’ volleyball in school history.
“This is the best team we’ve had in 18 years having made it to the finals,” said Gomes of the 12-player lineup of Grade 9s. “I’m really proud of what we did. It was a great season for us. We got first in a couple of tournaments (Morinville and Spruce Grove) and everybody had so much fun.”
Simpson arrived in the final fresh off a 21-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-2 semifinal affair against the Vincent J. Maloney Marauders (5-4) last year’s champions and the SAPEC leaders with 14 girls’ volleyball banners.
“We were a strong team throughout the season. We had really good communication and passes all-round,” said Muzyka, one of five returnees on the roster from last year’s 6-3 semifinalists.
The 13th SAPEC banner for Simpson was also the fourth in the last seven years.
“It’s pretty exciting what we did for our school,” Muzyka said. “We’re pretty proud to say that we’re part of Simpson.”
Visit www.stalbertgazette.com to view the Simpson team picture.
