The Davidson Raiders junior boys and girls volleyball teams squared off with their counterparts from Kenaston last Tuesday at the Davidson school gym with each of the four teams looking forward to a successful season.

The action started off with the Raider boys defeating the Kenaston Kodiaks three sets to two in what proved to be an evenly matched game between the clubs. The sets, which featured many strong back and forth rallies, saw the Raiders win the middle three and the Kodiaks the first and fifth.

Raiders junior boys coach Kristin Dolman said her guys played “really well” considering they haven’t had many games to practise on their techniques. She said the team improved in their “three separate three hits” and their communication on the court through the game, which should help them as they get ready for sectionals at the end of the month.

“We have a lot of Grade 7s,” said Dolman. “We don’t have a lot of (Grade) 8 and 9 players, so we’re a growing team.”

Dolman said there are only teams from Loreburn and Kenaston in their league, which means they won’t have many regular season games before sectionals at the end of October. She said the Davidson squad is a “strong enough team” to triumph once that tournament begins, but whether they move on to districts would depend on what they do on the court.

“Loreburn and Kenaston, we’re all fairly evenly matched,” she said. “It’ll just be what happens (on) that day. Hopefully we can get a little more practice and be a more competitive team that day.”

Maigan Hominick, coach of the Kodiaks junior boys, said the game was a “huge improvement” for her club and she is really proud about how they did. She said Kodiaks’ player Nolan Haugan stood out with his work during the game, but overall it was a great team effort as they continue to move forward.

“We are basically working on skill building right now,” said Hominick. “It’s a very young team, so it’s just basic skills (like) calling the ball, getting to the ball and if you call the ball you need to hit the ball type of thing. We’re just working as playing as a team and communicating.”

After the boys left the court the girls entered and a lively match-up that featured many strong kills by Kenaston’s Ann Ulmer ensued. The Kodiaks defeated the Raiders 4-0 in the game, but the majority of the sets were really close with many of the girls on both sides of the net getting touches during the game.

To read more please see the October 7 print edition of The Davidson Leader.