Senior Girls Volleyball
On Tuesday night, the Senior Girls Volleyball team hosted league action against 4A schools Mount Douglas and Royal Bay, going 1-3 overall against the two opponents.
SMUS and Mount Douglas staged an exciting match with outstanding effort and set delivery from Blue Jags’ Grade 12 setter Ava Gillespie, as the Rams prevailed 25-18 and 25-11. Katie Maybie made offensive contributions on the right side for SMUS while Charlie Anderson was a key threat attacking in both the frontcourt and backcourt. The SMUS block was notably stronger this week, while Emily Wu and Maddy Albert were major factors in the Blue Jags’ serve receive and defensive game.
In the second match, SMUS turned in a solid performance, splitting with Royal Bay by 25-18 and 23-25 scores. Monika Jurkovcova and Tomoe Hayashi helped the Blue Jags by scoring in the front row and on the service line.
The Senior Girls will have one more week of league play before the 3A tier playoffs and the ISA championships next weekend.
Junior Girls Volleyball
The Junior Girls Volleyball team shook off a rocky start to the Camosun tournament, finishing with a pair of wins on Saturday to place 13th overall in the event.
SMUS beat both Reynolds and Duncan Christian on the final day of the tournament.
Senior Boys Volleyball
The Senior Boys Volleyball team hosted Lower Island league action last Wednesday, posting a 2-4 record on the night in the three-team bill.
SMUS split sets with both Spectrum (24-26, 25-19) and Lambrick Park (12-25, 25-21) and dropped two to Vic High (10-25, 20-25).
Head Coach Brady Doland was pleased that SMUS was able to pull out a win against rival Lambrick Park. The coach also welcomed the news that Grade 12 Lincoln Faulkner has been declared eligible to play for SMUS.
“He will be a big-impact player,” said Doland.
Field Hockey
The SMUS Senior Girls Field Hockey team finished seventh overall in the prestigious Bridgman Cup, a University of Victoria-hosted event showcasing the top teams in the province, held over the Thanksgiving weekend. The Bridgman Cup is the oldest field hockey tournament in North America, dating back to 1929, and annually attracts the best high school teams in British Columbia.
The Blue Jags played a solid first pool game on Friday against Shawnigan Lake School, winning 2-1, with goals coming on short corners from Wynn Brown and Anika Delichte. SMUS next met the powerhouse Handsworth team of North Vancouver, which has enjoyed considerable success over the last decade in both this tournament and in the provincials. The Blue Jags battled hard and managed to stay level at 1-1 for a while, on a goal from Beatrice Sharpe, before Handsworth pulled away with two quick goals for a 3-1 win. The defensive efforts of Mia Muller, Caitlyn Mullen, and Brown were exceptional for SMUS in this game.
On Saturday, the Blue Jags came out rather flat in their quarter-final matchup with Crofton House and were unable to match their opponent’s speed and skill in a 3-0 loss. Regrouping for the next game against Little Flower Academy (LFA) – a school SMUS beat in last season’s provincial 2A championship game – the Blue Jags dominated possession and chances throughout, after conceding a penalty-corner goal to LFA in the opening minutes. Despite more than 15 penalty corners, a SMUS goal was not forthcoming, and there was certainly disappointment with a 1-0 loss.
“It was one of those games when we couldn't buy a goal – we've all been through games like this,” said Head Coach David Kerr, conceding the defeat was “frustrating for the girls... and the coaches!”
Nonetheless, the Blue Jags came out strongly Sunday morning for their final game of the tournament to beat Glenlyon-Norfolk School 3-0, with short corner goals from Delichte and Brown, and a penalty stroke from Muller. This victory resulted in a respectable seventh-place Bridgman Cup overall finish.
Standout players for SMUS in the tournament were the midfield quartet of Brown, Mullen, Avery Geddes, and Annabel Howard, who ran well and controlled much of the play in each of the games. Muller was a rock on defence, along with Katharina Heineman, and newcomers Rio Usugaya and Izzy Thompson. Amelie Fleck provided important saves all weekend, while forwards Kendyll Adams, Sharpe, and Delichte – along with new Grade 10s Manon Denux and Kate McQueen – battled hard all tournament long.
Next up is an inter-squad game this week with the SMUS development team, before the Senior Girls head over to Crofton House for the ISA tournament on Friday and Saturday.
Senior Boys Soccer
The SMUS Senior Boys Soccer team evened its Lower Island League record at 2-2 with a pair of shutout wins at home last week against Stelly’s and Esquimalt.
On Tuesday, Sam Bruninx recorded a natural hat trick, scoring three Blue Jags’ goals in a 4-0 win over Stellys. Cole Michel had the other SMUS goal.
On Thursday, SMUS blanked visiting Esquimalt 3-0. Bruninx scored twice in that game while Michel had the other Blue Jags goal and also assisted on one of Bruninx’s markers. The SMUS defense held strong that game led by the efforts of centre back Marcus Lam, who seemed to stop every goal with his body, allowing SMUS to successfully clear.
Cross Country
Last week at UVic, SMUS runner Owen Sandquist-Sherman finished first overall in the Senior Boys race, helping the Blue Jags to a third-place showing in the third event of the Lower Island cross country season.
The top SMUS performance in the Senior Girls event came from Beatrice Sharpe, who placed seventh, with the SMUS girls finishing in fourth-place as a team.
