The Westpark Royals varsity girls' volleyball team is playoff bound. 

The squad finished the regular season with a 3-3 record, which was good enough to secure them the fourth and final postseason birth in the Zone 4 AA playoffs. Head coach Shaun Cornish says this says a lot about the girls' dedication.

"There were a few new students to the school (that joined the team). So, our first job was to try and build some team morale. I think a lot of the girls really took that to heart and tried to get everyone involved," Cornish explains. "Since our first game, I would say everything is a lot sharper, and they're a lot more focused. Their skills have really improved, with serving and being able to build a lot more offence. I'm proud of their progress this season."

The Royals will be hitting the road today for the semi-final matchup with Rosenort Redhawks, who they were taken down by in three straight sets in game one of the season. Cornish says it's going to take a lot to come out on top but he believes they have the ability to do it.

"We faced Rosenort in our first game of the season, and you can tell why they're ranked second in the province for AA schools. We're going to have to play good defence and be ready for a lot of speed coming at us but try to push it back and fight for every point," Cornish continues. "It's going to be quite a battle but the girls have learned how to build momentum and stay positive to get through some of those slumps."

Westpark is coming off a home tournament victory two weekends ago as they were victorious in five of the six sets they played. Cornish says they will be looking to use the momentum from that as well as their final regular season game (three-set victory over Roseau Valley Raiders) to propel them past the powerhouse that is Rosenort.

Regardless of the outcome today, Cornish says this was a great season.

"I'm really proud of the girls. They've shown a lot of resilience and willingness to keep pushing through when facing adversity. One of our goals going into the year was to make the playoffs. We had to beat at least three teams in our zone, which we did. So, I think they worked hard and they earned this playoff spot."

The Royals will look to punch their ticket to the league finals tonight as they travel to Rosenort to take on the Redhawks at 5:30.

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