Team News

Tryouts and Open Gym times for 2011-2012 Season

Thank you for your interest in our volleyball program for the upcoming season. If you are planning on trying out for the team this coming fall, we will have our summer drop ins starting this week and anyone is welcome to attend. All of our drop ins will be held at the Douglas College New West gymnasium.

Mondays (August 15/22/29) / 5:30-7pm

Wednesdays (August 17/24) 6-8pm

Our open tryouts will be on September 6 (Tuesday) from 4:30-6pm and September 7 (Wednesday) from 4-5:30pm.

For open tryouts, we will only have one spot open, as of now, we have 14 players on the roster with have returning players and the other half are recruited players. We will be practicing four times a week and then we will our league matches on Fridays and Saturdays starting mid October. I will only take a player that will enjoy practicing and being part of the team, also, you must have the skill level to help the team improve. If you further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or ask me at the drop ins or tryouts.

Royals Go Down Fighting

Nicole Curran
Photo by Sean Velasco

This weekend were the final home games of the season for the Royals. They were up against CBC Bearcats and at stake was a spot in the upcoming provincial championships. This was do or die for the Royals who they needed to win both matches against the Bearcats to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Friday night, the Royals had a feeling that this was going to be a battle and they would need to bring everything they had against the Bearcats. The Royals started the first game strong with a couple of kills, giving them an early lead in the game but the Bearcats kept their composure and were neck to neck with the Royals mid game. The Bearcats got a couple of kills from their veteran rightside player and gained momentum to get to game point 22-24 but the Royals weren't about to give it up. The Royals clawed themselves back with some great defense and some key kills taking the game 26-24. Captain Skwarok and Rookie Zawila had both 3 kills in the first game for the Royals.

The Bearcats still had some momentum on their side and took an early lead in the second game. The second game was back and forth with the Bearcats taking a big lead and then the Royals playing catch up. It was another tight game but the Bearcats edged out the Royals 23-25. The 3rd and 4th game were quite similar with the Bearcats taking a big lead and the Royals playing catch up. The Royals just didn't have any energy left to finish each game with the Bearcats taking the match 3-1 with the scores 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22. With this loss, the Royals found themselves out of the playoffs in nearly 8 years.

Christine Skwarok
Photo by Sean Velasco

Saturday night was filled with alot of emotions with two senior players, Captain Christine Skwarok and Libero Nicole Curran, playing their last match at home for the Royals. To begin the first game, the Bearcats kept their momentum from the night before and got an early lead against the Royals. But the Royals kept on fighting and playing the catch up game but again, they lacked the energy to keep up their intensity to finish the 1st game losing 19-25. Unfortunately, the Royals never recovered and lost in three straight games, 19-25, 18-25, 14-25.

Nicole Curran started as a Royal and will end as a Royal. She played 3 years with the Royals and has been the ultimate team player and probably had one of toughest role in the game. She was the defensive specialist who came in mid game and made many key passes and digs that gave many wins to the Royals. She is a player that a team needs, her love for the game inspires all of her teammates.

Christine Skwarok may have not started as a Royal, but she had the heart of a Royal. She played two years with the program and has made an impact with the team as the main offensive player on the floor. She also established herself as an all-around hitter in the league placing in 2-3 statistic categories in the two years she played with the Royals. Her work ethic was unquestionable and she inspired by her determination and passion for the sport. We wish both players nothing but the best in their futures.

The Royals will end their season with two matches agains the defending National Champions UBCO Heat next weekend in Kelowna.

Royals Triumph over the Avalanche

Chantelle Zawila
Photo by Jerald Walliser

This weekend, the Royals were in a fight to stay alive for a spot in the provincial championships against COTR Avalanche in Cranbrook. Coming to this weekend, the Royals put their playoff hopes in the back of their minds and focused on just executing their skills confidently and increase their performance as a whole.

The 1st game in Friday?s match did not start the way Coach Vijandre expected. The Royals found themselves down 7-0 after some unforced errors causing the Royals to call an early timeout. But soon after that, the Royals settled down and found their rhythm with a few kills and blocks to shift the momentum to their side. The Royals were firing from all cylinders with veteran Cambria Janes and rookies Chantelle Zawila and Rachel Birak each contributing 3 kills in the first game. From then on, the Royals never looked back triumphed over the scrappy Avanlance. Rookie Chantelle Zawila led the team in points with 10kills/1 block/2 aces.

The Royals looked very confident for their second match against the Avalanche. With another great start from rookies Zawila and Birak with 4 kills in the first game, it sent the tone that the Royals were carrying their momentum from the night before. The Royals took the first two games but the Avalanche was not just going to wither away. In the 3rd game, the Avalanche made it a close game and prevailed taking the game 23-25. But the Royals were not easily rattled, they took control early in the 4th game and never looked back. The Royals finished the Avalanche with the scores 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20. Skwarok, Janes, Zawila, and Birak all contributed with 11 points along with Libero Jessy Fisher at the defensive end with a team high 11 digs.

Old Spaghetti Factory Player of the Week

Christine Skwarok
Photo by Jerald Walliser

Captain Christine Skwarok is playing on her 3rd year in college and her 2nd year with the Royals. Since joining the team last season, she had made an immediate impact with the team and the league. Last season, she carried the team offensively and made the league statistics in the top 10 of two categories. This current season, as the acting captain, she now leads a young group of Royals in making this team competitive in the toughest college league in Canada.

The first weekend of play, the Royals were hosting Selkirk College for their season home opener. The Royals successfully began their season with two straight wins against Selkirk with Captain Skwarok leading the way 13 kills and 11 digs in the first win and then 12 kills and 11 kills for the second win of the weekend. But the Royals had it tough the next few weeks of league play, they had UFV, Capilano, and VIU to end the 1st semester of play. During that time, all three teams were ranked in the top 15 in Canada. Unfortunately, the Royals did not come up with a win but Captain Skwarok had some great stats against UFV and Capilano which puts her in the top 5 kills per game and top 10 in digs per game in league statistics. She continues to carry the offensive load for the Royals in the second semester starting against the Camosun Chargers. Despite the tough losses, she tallied 16 kills/2 blocks/10 digs for an exciting 5 game match and 11 kills/2 aces/10 digs for the second match.

The Royals will continue to battle for a spot in the upcoming provincial championships and watch for Captain Skwarok play her final home match with the Royals against rivals Capilano Blues on January 22nd.

Royals lose back to back

Rachel Birak
Photo by Jerald Waliser

The Royals came into the weekend with the full roster at hand. The Royals had middle blocker Chantelle Zawila and libero Jessy Fisher back in the iine up against the UFV Cascades.

Friday night, the Royals were very confident starting the game. They started off with some key digs and quick transition to win some exciting rallies to build momentum for the first game. The Royals took the first game 25-20 with momentum on their side for the second game. It was a great start for the Royals but Coach Vijandre knew that UFV has the experience to rebound back for the second game. Again, the Royals started quite strong but the Cascades kept up led by their senior power Erin Burns dominating the line defense of the Royals. The Royals weren't able to contain the power hitters of the Cascades but were able to keep it close losing the 2nd game 22-25. With losing momentum, the Royals weren't able to recover quick enough losing the third game. But the Royals were not done yet, they gained some confidence and made the 4th game an exciting game. Captain Skwarok led the charge with a few kills to keep the Royals in at the end of the game but the Cascades were able to finish off the Royals 23-25 to take the match 3-1. Captain Skwarok had a double double night with 13 kills and 17 digs and middle blocker Chantelle Zawila contributed with 6 kills and 3 stuff blocks. At the defensive end, Libero Jessy Fisher contributed with team high 18 digs for the night.

The Saturday match, the Royals was still feeling confident going into the second match with some minor adjustments into their game plan. The Cascades put out their most experienced line up to start the match and the Royals were hoping to have another strong start. The Cascades came out with a bang from their power hitters and the Royals weren't able to bounce back with their defense. The Cascades took the first game convincingly 14-25. The Royals finally woke up in the second game sparking a 7-3 lead with some tough serves. The Royals showed alot of heart in the second game tying up the game twice but losing a close game 23-25. After that, the Cascade went on to cruise beating the Royals 3 straight.

The Royals have a weekend bye and will have two weeks to prepare themselves for the VIU Mariners in Nanaimo.

Royals downed by Blues

Royals up for the block
Photo by Jerald Waliser

The Royals had only one match this weekend and it was against their crosstown rivals Capilano Blues. The Royals were not a 100% with starters Chantelle Zawila and Libero Jessy Fisher out for the match along with first year power Jacquelyn Holmes. Coach Vijandre were looking for a couple of the supporting players to step up against the Capilano Blues.

The Royals started the first game confidently with early kills from Captain Skwarok trading point by point against the Blues, but a couple of digging errors started the Blues momentum and won the game 25-17. The second game was similar with the Royals having a strong start but was not able to keep the intensity at the end of the 2nd game. The Blues were just too strong that night taking the Royals 3 straight 25-17, 25-15, 25-12. Despite the loss, the Royals got consistent performance from their captain Christine Skwarok with 11 kills, 2 stuff blocks, 1 ace, and serve receive passed a 2.26 avg.

Next weekend, the Royals are up against the experienced UFV Cascades and hoping that they will be 100% healthy by the end of the week.

Season Opener a Roaring Success

Jessy Fisher
Photo by Jerald Waliser

The Royals Women's Volleyball team hosted the Selkirk Saints for their home opener at the new west campus this past weekend. With many returning and new faces with the Royals, look for an exciting season that will bring the Royals back in its winning ways.

Friday night brought out a good size of fans which created a nice atmosphere in the gym. The Royals were very excited to play their first league match but nerves struck the Royals in the beginning of the first game. Committing three hitting errors kept the Saints nice and close but as soon the Royals settled down with turning point kills from Royals Captain Christine Skwarok, the Royals cruised into a convincing 1st game win 25-13. The Royals went on to win three straight 25-13, 25-17, 25-22 with sterlar performance from Captain Skwarok with 13 kills and 11 digs along with rookie middleblocker Chantelle Zawila with 6 kills and 4 aces. Top Libero Jessy Fisher contributed 11 digs and passed a team high serve receive average of 2.36.

The second match was a tighter match but the Royals grinded it out and won in 4, 25-18, 25-23, 14-25, 25-12. The Royals were a little sluggish in the third game but they bounced back in the 4th game, winning it with conviction. The Royals had many contributers in this win with Captain Skwarok leading the way with 12 kills and 11 digs, Rightside Alex Cole with 4 aces and 14 digs, Rookie middleblocker Rachel Birak with 5 kills and 6 aces. At the defensive end, 2nd year Power Natalia Kanda contributed with team high 5 stuff blocks and libero Fisher with team high 15 digs.

For their upcoming match, the Royals have a tougher match against top ranked Capilano Blues next weekend in North Vancouver. Plagued with a few injuries, the Royals will have to look to their supporting players to perform when called upon to.

2009-10 Women's Volleball Season Preview

Christine Schwarok
Photo by Jerald Waliser

There are many new faces on the Royals VB team that will help the 2009-2010 squad. The team has added some height with three middle blockers recruits, Chantelle Zawila, Kalena Conners, and Rachel Birak. All three middle blockers are over 6 feet tall and played with local competitive volleyball clubs.

Chantelle Zawila is a Seaquam graduate who played with the Seaside Volleyball Club in White Rock. She helped her club team win a gold medal in Tier 3 Div 1 National Championships. Kalena Conners graduated from Burnaby North and played with the Coquitlam Ducks Volleyball Club. She was also a member of of Team BC provincial program in 2007. Rachel Birak played volleyball with Regent Christian High School and played club for Surrey Heat.

Two Pinetree graduates have also jined the Royals. Power hitter Jacquelyn Holmes and setter Jillian Noort, who led their high school team into two consecutive berths into the AAAA Provincial Championships. Both also played with teammate Kalena Conners with the Coquitlam Ducks. The last addition is Riverside graduate, Kristen Atkins, who helped lead her team into a bronze medal finish at last year’s AAAA Provincial Championships.

"All of these first years should make an immediate impact on the team and make the Royals a step closer in challenging for the provincial title. " mentioned Royals Coach Ryan Vijandre.

The Royals also welcome back 3rd year veteran and captain Christine Schwarok. Christine will take over the captain role and continue her leadership through her hard work ethic in practice and competition. The Royals will also see Nicole Curran, and Cambria Janes, along with 2nd year libero Jessica Fisher, Alex Cole, and Natalia Kanda returning and completing the 2009-2010 Royals squad.

The Royals have a busy preseason schedule with many scrimmages and two exhibition tournaments. The Royals attended a pre-season tournament in Red Deer. The Royals are back in action in Oct 16/17 for the Capilano University exhibition tournament. The Royals will have their home opener on October 30th against the visiting Selkirk College Saints.