Providence women’s volleyball team off to strong start

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This article was published 17/11/2023 (592 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Providence Pilots women’s team look on a mission this year.

After falling in the provincial final and missing out on a trip to nationals, head coach Kyle Guenther put his departure from the program on hold, returning to coach one more year in Providence.

“The semis and finals last year was really big for us to take a step forward,” Guenther said.

“Our team is still young in the end, but that experience last year definitely helps… There’s some confidence on our side, but it’s going to be a battle every time we step on the floor.”

The team has rewarded him, blitzing out to a 4-0 start after sweeping CMU and Assiniboine Community College to start the season. The match-up against ACC pitted the two undefeated teams in the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference against each other, with the Pilots coming out on top twice.

Guenther called the opening weekend of the season a “dream start,” as defeating CMU twice had the Pilots ranked as a top-15 team in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association.

After a 3-1 win over Assiniboine Nov. 10, a packed gym inside Niverville Collegiate were treated to an outstanding match, with the hometown Pilots dropping the first two sets before storming back to take the victory (24-26, 14-25, 26-24, 25-22, 15-13).

“This is the kind of match where we have a lot of things to work on, and this week’s practice will be important for that,” Guenther said.

“(That win) is a testament to character… For us to stick it out and just rely on ourselves and take care of our side is important.”

In the decisive third set, the Pilots flew out to a 23-18 lead, before the Cougars pushed back to put Providence an the brink of defeat. As ACC looked to complete the in-set comeback, Guenther was left searching for answers on the bench.

“I honestly thought, ‘today’s not our day,’” he said.

“We’re going to have that. You can’t put too much stock into one day or one evening. It would have made sense if we lost… but we took that momentum and ran with it.”

Providence setters are spoiled for choice, with strong options all around the floor. Guenther said a varied attack is important to the Pilots.

“We don’t want to be stuck too much in one side of the court,” he said.

“(We want) to spread the offense, and do it quickly. If we’re beating the block and beating the defense that’s the key to our game… The speed of our offense is going to be key.”

Guenther added it’s a benefit to have strong servers on their roster, as players get a chance to pass back excellent deliveries in practice.

“Our serving/passing battle in practice, this year specifically, has been really good,” he said.

“It’s definitely going to make our passing better.”

The Pilots have been forced to call the Niverville Collegiate gym home for the time being, as repairs to the flooded floor at the Niverville Community Resource and Rec Centre’s AMF Fieldhouse have taken a bit longer than expected.

While the flooring is now installed, the lines had yet to be painted as of Nov. 12, and there appears to be no varnish applied yet. If the floor is not finished, the Pilots will host CMU at Niverville Collegiate Nov. 18 in the evening.