The Merritt Secondary School senior girls’ volleyball squad went a perfect 7-0 on the weekend to win a six-team tournament in Princeton. According to head coach Dwayne Suzuki, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

“We’re 0-6 in league play right now, and we are hosting this Wednesday. I think that the victory in Princeton will do wonders for the girls’ confidence. It shows them what they are really capable of.” Suzuki went on to say that the mental part of the game is so important. “Thinking positive, and visualizing good plays are keys to success.”

The Panthers won all five matches in the round-robin portion of the Princeton tournament, racking up victories over the host school and teams from Keremeos, Barriere and Osoyoos.

In both the semi-finals and finals, played Saturday afternoon, MSS defeated Princeton and Osoyoos respectively in straight sets to take the overall title. Game scores in the championship match were 25-15 and 25-18. Tournament all-stars from Merritt were Lidia Bester, Morgan Fosbery, Amy Norgaard, Brittany Rabbitt, Alyssa Stowell and Jessica Janzen.

Suzuki said passing was an important part of his team’s success all weekend. “We’re an attacking team, and very offensively-minded. We want to put the ball down on the floor. But everything hinges on the first pass. If we don’t get it, then we struggle. We wind up with long rallies that, more often than not, we lose.”

The Merritt squad has decent size at the net, with powers Bester and Jenna Rhonner, and middles Fosbery, Rabbitt, Stowell, Janzen and Justine Christy. They make good targets for Norgaard, the team’s setter.

“Amy is very quick, and mechanically-sound,” says Suzuki of his team’s quarterback and captain. “She’s making better and better decisions in terms of varying the offense, and in terms of who to set in a given situation.” The coach also praised Norgaard for the leadership role that she is taking with the team off the floor as well.

Going into Wednesday’s matches, Suzuki’s charges will be in the gym a lot this week practising their serves. “It’s another area we have to improve upon,” he says. “Right now, it’s like we’re just giving them the ball, rather than making it the first part of our attack. A soft serve just won’t cut it against Kamloops’ team like Sahali, NorKam and Valleyview, all of whom are here on Wednesday.”

Matches on Wednesday begin at 5, 6 and 7 p.m.