Bisons fail to fulfill lofty expectations
Eliminated from playoffs
Ajitpaul Mangat, Staff
Photo by Giles Ringer
Expectations are tricky to deal with in all aspects of life, but in sports, where games are determined by the slimmest of margins — a fraction of an inch here, a split second there, and countless gut decisions everywhere — they can quickly change from a gift to a curse as what happens in the field of play is what truly matters at the end of a competition.
Expectations had been a gift to the Bisons women’s volleyball team all season long. Propelled by an aura of invincibility, they had dispatched of their competition in a dominant, meticulous and assured manner, which nearly always left them the victors. And with those victories came the spoils of motivating expectations. For when you are 18-2 those 19th and 20th wins are expected. And when you are the number-one-ranked team in the nation a trip to the CIS national championships is expected. Expectations are high because they have been habitually met.
But heading into this past weekends Canada West Final Four, at the Investors Group Athletic Centre, three other highly ranked women’s volleyball teams had lofty expectations of their own. The second-ranked University of Calgary Dinos and fifth-ranked University of Alberta Pandas expected to not only secure a place in this year’s national championships but also advance deep into the tournament, as the Dinos were semi-finalists and the Pandas champions last season. And, the third-ranked UBC Thunderbirds, having defeated all of these teams earlier this season, expected to defeat them again. So, with only three national championship spots available the drama of sport commenced — expectations were destined to become a curse, for one of these teams.
After two thrilling days of action, expectations were in fact both equalled and shattered. The Dinos and Pandas booked their places in next week’s nationals with well-deserved and hard fought wins on Friday against UBC, 3-2 (25-16, 25-20, 25-27, 20-25, 21-19), and Manitoba, 3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 16-25, 25-22), respectively. As a result, a decisive match was set-up on Saturday between the Bisons and Thunderbirds with the winner advancing to nationals.
The Bisons began the game strongly winning the opening set 25-19. But storming right back, UBC convincingly took the next two sets, as they were able to build on early leads and claim the sets 25-17 and 25-18.
Then, with their season on the line, the Bisons rediscovered their strong regular season play. They began hitting with more energy, digging with more conviction and playing more cohesively as a team. They dominated the fourth set taking it by a 25-16 score, and then carried that momentum into the decisive fifth set, building a 9-7 lead.
At this point the finality of the game, for the first time, truly took shape grabbing every player, coach and fan in the building by the heartstrings. Tears were about to be shed: many from joy and many from pain — the pain of exhausted bodies and minds, of a season’s work crushed, and of expectations shattered. The Bisons holding a late lead and, with a boisterous crowd behind them, expected to win. The Thunderbirds, with memories of a national championship won just two short years ago, also expected to win. In the end, it was the Thunderbirds, who played better when it mattered on the volleyball court that claimed victory: 3-2 overall, 15-12 in the final set.
After the game a sombre Bisons head coach Ken Bentley spoke of the thin line between victory and defeat and expectations unfulfilled: “It’s a game of inches and we were just on the wrong side of the inch today. In the end we were up 9-7 in that fifth set and we didn’t make a couple of plays that we should of. . . . It’s a tough loss . . . this will be the best team I’ve ever had that has never gone to a national championship. . . . We are a much better team than we were a year ago so to fall short here obviously is really difficult . . . it is painful.”
The weekend wrapped up anticlimactically with the Pandas defeating the Dinos in the gold medal match, 3-1 (25-27, 25-19, 26-24, 25-22). With both teams having already achieved what they desired — an opportunity to play next week — the emotions and sensations of all involved were perceptibly muted from just a few hours ago. There were no expectations of an impressive victory or a devastating loss; the grandeur and tension that make sport such an appetizing feast for the senses had vanished. Without expectations it became just another game with little chance of producing greatness or treasured memories.
And in the end, that is what made the Bisons women’s volleyball team such a pleasure to watch this season. The expectation that you were watching something great, something memorable week in and week out. Having not achieved greatness, the Bisons will again strive for that lofty plateau next year. And you can be sure that one again they will expect to be the best team on the volleyball court.
