The Reigns first season as a registered volleyball club on the North Island has officially come to a close, and their Coach Justin Reusch is incredibly proud of all the hard work the team has put in this year. "This season has been great," said Reusch, adding that the Reigns "really came together as a team and learned how to play in a game atmosphere rather than just a practice atmosphere."
Volleyball season opens in January and ends in mid-May. The Reigns travelled down island to compete "three times in Nanaimo, and once in Campbell river" over the course of the season, said Reusch.
They also recently made the trip out to Abbotsford to compete in the BC Provincials held from May 7-8, where they ended up "placing sixth in the division," Reusch said, adding that the team "played five games total at the Provincials, three on Saturday and two on Sunday. They won one game outright against a team from the Yukon by a score of 25 to 15, and then won a couple sets in their other games, so it was really good for them to play a few close games and get to see how they stacked up against some pretty comparable teams with similar skill level and experience. Provincials was something they had been working towards all season, and they had a lot of fun on the trip."
Reusch feels the Reigns have really progressed in their skills from the start of the season and gelled together as a team, supporting one another regardless of age or experience. "We had some girls who'd never played before who improved immensely, but everyone in general has really gotten a lot better," he said, adding that his favourite moment from the season was "one game against Abbotsford (at the Provincials) in the third match where the girls kept pushing the game into overtime."
Even with the volleyball season over, the Reigns are already making plans for next year to start fundraising to help pay for another trip to play in the Provincials again. "The girls are all very enthusiastic about going back to compete," said Reusch, explaining that while the team loves the opportunity to get to play volleyball, he really just wants to give them some "great experiences through their high school years that makes them want to continue with the sport and keep playing volleyball in the future recreationally."