Women's volleyball team made great strides
Mar. 9, 2010 - Regina Leader-Post
By Ian Hamilton
Melanie Sanford is living in the past these days.
Asked Monday to assess the University of Regina Cougars' 2009-10 women's volleyball season, the veteran head coach chuckled.
"I need time to sit back and evaluate it -- because mentally I'm still back about when we qualified for (Canada West) quarterfinals," Sanford said after arriving home from Edmonton, where the Cougars participated in the 2010 CIS championship tournament. "Seriously, it takes on a life of its own.
"It's very exciting. We've laid a new foundation and set a standard for this program and we certainly don't want to deviate from the path we're on."
The Cougars went 13-7 in the Canada West regular season -- the team's best record in Sanford's eight seasons at the helm -- and played host to a playoff series for the first time since 1990.
With a quarterfinal victory over the Brandon Bobcats, Regina went to the Final Four for the first time since the tournament format was adopted by Canada West in 2003.
With a third-place finish there, the Cougars qualified for nationals for the first time since 2000. In Edmonton, Regina rebounded from an opening-round loss to the Laval Rouge et Or to post two victories on the consolation side to claim fifth place.
"For the most part, the team met its goals," Sanford said. "They decided what they wanted to do and they put the work in and got the results. We had an amazing season and jumped up a few levels ... Maybe you see a team take one or two of those steps. We took a few."
Sanford said one reason for the progression was the Cougars realized what was possible and did everything they could to accomplish it. Another reason was improvement in the team concept.
"Volleyball is not a sport where you can play individually; it's really unforgiving that way," Sanford said. "The players in this group knew what their roles were and really accepted those as the season went on. They didn't overplay their roles and they didn't underplay them. And when we needed key performances, we got them."
Another factor Sanford identified was the leadership provided by Beth Clark and Meagan Smith -- both of whom just completed their fifth and final seasons in the CIS.
Sanford said she had meetings with both players once a week for the entire season to help them hone their leadership skills. Now, someone else has to take over those duties.
"Right now, I don't know (who it's going to be)," Sanford said. "I haven't given it a ton of thought, but we do have that group of third-years -- Meagan Onstad and Solveig (Nilson) and Tiffany Herman. We'll see who wants to step up to the plate. Being the captain of a university team is not the easiest thing. It's not for everybody."
Onstad, Herman, Rebecca Rink and Kaitlyn Hughes were among the players who impressed Sanford with their play during the season. With that core all eligible to return, the Cougars could make another run next season.
"We probably couldn't have asked for much more," Sanford said. "Obviously, we could ask for a better result in our first-round game against Laval, but having said that, we responded really well. It was important for us to finish on a strong note and win those two matches (against the Saint Mary's Huskies and Toronto Varsity Blues).
"The girls handled themselves with a lot of poise and maturity. I told them after the Laval game, 'You have nothing to be ashamed of. We've just got to learn from this for the future.' "