The Triple Crown squad anticipated a tight match against Amrak in the all-Westman final, and the first set showed how even the teams were as they went blow for blow with each other. Triple Crown prevailed 25-23 and were poised to sweep their rivals in the second set, but they blew a 20-10 lead and lost 27-25. They grabbed an 8-3 lead in the third set and survived a late push from Amrak to hang on to win 15-11.
Zoe Pellerin, one of Triple Crown’s left sides, knows Amrak proved they’re never out of a set, but she believes her team made a statement of their own in the final.
"It shows that we never get down, never give up and always try our best," she said. "We push through when we need to."
Brett Nohr, Triple Crown’s head coach, expected a tight match between the two teams. They needed three sets to decide their most recent meeting this season. They also split their sets in Saturday’s round-robin match, with both team winning one 25-22.
"Both teams are really equal," he said. "It (comes down to) whoever’s hot at that time. We could play each other 10 times and be 5-5 or someone could be 10-0. You just don’t know."
Pellerin believes the tight final against Amrak will benefit her team later this season. Triple Crown, as well as Amrak, is off to Winkler in two weeks for one last tournament before travelling to Winnipeg for provincials, which runs from May 5-6. Pellerin believes this win will give her team more confidence for its next two events and will have them even more prepared if they face Amrak again.
"It just gives us that extra boost
that we can beat teams that we compete well with," she
said. "We’re evenly matched with the Amrak team and both
of us play really well against some of the stronger
teams like the Cobras and Storm. That gives us
confidence and an energy boost to go and play like we
can and show that we can beat them."
(files from the Brandon Sun)
