Flight Report Nov 1

Pilots Soccer MCAC Championship Review:
Providence Soccer MCAC Playoffs vs WSOC Brandon Bobcats & MSOC CMU Blazers
Results: WSOC L 0-1 in 2OT, MSOC L 0-1.

The Pilots made their way to Brandon, MB., for the MCAC championships with a flight to CCAA National championships on the line. Both the women’s and men’s teams were ready for a tough battle in their semi-final match ups.
On the women’s side, the Pilots played an extremely close game through 90 minutes + double OT coming out with a near miss to advancing on a 0-1 loss. Anna Green was named player of the match for the Pilots. Coach Walker reflected on the MCAC semi-finals loss by sharing that “This was one of our best games as a team, we went out and played the style of game we worked on for two weeks. We out chanced and out played Brandon but were unable to capitalize on our chances and put the game away. I am proud of how the team played and really felt we deserved to be in the final but that is how soccer can be sometimes. It is a bittersweet way to end the season but I know the team has no regrets. Now for us as coaches, our focus is on the recruitment season and looking to get better for next season.”
On the men’s side, Coach Passi shared the disappointment in an extremely tough semi-final loss in windy conditions on a rough field to the CMU Blazers. While the Pilots created numerous amounts of open net chances, the ability to finish just didn’t seem to be there on October 30th’s semi-final day. While managing to come into the MCAC championships ranked 1st after a long regular season, the Pilots suffered the devasting loss and now return to the drawing board to aim towards a CCAA nationals birth in 2022. Coach Passi reflected on the heartbreaking result: “we had been super solid all year and were a collectively strong group. We knew going behind would be the worst thing since CMU would pack the box and make it hard to come back. And that's exactly what happened. Hats off to CMU, they found a way to win which is ultimately the only thing that matters. I'm proud of our group. They had really good chemistry and loved playing together and it was a fun year overall."

Pilots Volleyball soars in MCAC season opener
Providence Volleyball Regular Season at Assiniboine Community College
Results: WVB – W: 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-22); MVB – W: 3-1 (28-26, 21-25, 25-22, 25-22).
MCAC Record: WVB 1-0, MVB 1-0

October 29th marked the start of the fresh MCAC conference regular season and ended what seemed to be an eternity of time between formal volleyball competition due to the global pandemic. Both Pilots teams came into the weekend a bit bruised up with injuries but prevailed on the score line against strong and scrappy ACC Cougar squads.
In the highly anticipated return, the women’s volleyball squad flew off the bus with their strong 3-0 win to begin regular season capped off with strong performances from Maddie Fehr (6 kills, 7 digs, 2 blocks), Jordan Moyer (5 kills, 3 blocks) and first year setter Amanda Bergen (27 assists, 9 digs and 1 ace). Middle Blocker Taylor Hiebert shared that “it was surreal to play again. Ending the game with a straight set victory was great and the team is ready for the upcoming season and challenges ahead.” Head coach Kyle Guenther echoed Hiebert’s excitement: “Friday night was so much fun. Watching our team compete again was so good to watch. We were able to put all of the nerves aside and play freely to start the match which allowed us to have success. That will be the goal for the season. When we are able to enjoy ourselves and just go out and play, we will be a very good team. We now look forward to our first home games in Niverville next weekend against the defending champion CMU Blazers.”
On the men’s side, the Pilots came into the tough atmosphere vs a strong and experienced ACC Cougars team. The Pilots were able to weather the storm of lower side out efficiency then hoped for and strong spin serving from their opponents to take a hard earned 4 set victory to kick off the MCAC regular season with a bang. Key contributors to the men’s squad’s first win of the year was captain Austin Anderson (14 kills, 4 digs and 2 aces) and second year transfer, Nicholas Friesen (5 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces, no hitting errors and a 50% hitting efficiency). Coach Quiring reflected on the match sharing “it was a barn burner from the first point. ACC is an extremely competitive team and so I was proud of our guys to find the ability to manage the first regular season game in over 600 days and come out with the win. We look forward to the next one.”

Providence Basketball Pre-Season West Coast Trip:

October 28th at Douglas College, New Westminster, BC
Results: WBB – L 57-86 ; MBB – L 59-74
October 29th at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, BC.
Results: WBB – W 77-69 ; MBB – W 100-90
October 30th at Langara College in Vancouver, BC.
Results: WBB – W 68-59 ; MBB – L 81-118

The Pilots basketball programs flew over the rocky mountains and touched down on the West Coast for the first of a three game pre-season trip for both the women’s and men’s programs.
The first of three games lined up a tilt vs heavyweight Douglas College Royals. Stepping off the plane for BC, the Pilots knew they would be facing some tough competition in three contending PACWEST programs. The women’s team battled had while dealing with foul trouble throughout the game against their tough CCAA counterpart. Katelin Thiessen put up 11 points in a solid two-way game.
On the men’s matchup, head coach Pierre Dubreuil shared that their first game “showcased the team's willingness to defend strong and hard for 40 minutes! We hold the 2019 CCAA finalist under 50 points for more than three quarters, only giving up 74 points for the entire game. Unfortunately, we struggled to find the target all game long in offence and had to give up the loss”
In the second of three nights, the Pilots basketball programs faced off against the CBC Bearcats. The women’s team matched up well against the PACWEST opponent and managed to play a hard and very determined four quarters taking the win 77-69. The Pilots were led by veteran leadership from their three captains, Wiebe, Thiessen and Reimer showing steady, relentless pressure on both ends of the floor but the night belonged to Megan Wiebe. Wiebe dazzled the Bearcats dropping a clean 33 points, going 8-11 from 3-point range in a “legendary performance.”
The men followed suit with their own fourth quarters of energy and competitiveness at both ends of the floor taking the win 100-90. The Pilots were led by an incredible performance by their captain Bryant Smith who took on role of shutting down the Bearcats leading scorer.
In the third and final game of the West Coast trip, the Pilots flew into Vancouver, BC., to play the Langara Falcons. The women’s squad maintained their aggressive play from the night before achieving their second win of the trip with a 68-59 battle over the Falcons on their home court. It was a defensive minded game led by freshman Asha Donnelly who also contributed 15 points in the Pilots second win of the trip. Assistant Coach Joey Traa reflected on the trip as “a resounding success. To finish three games in three nights with back-to-back wins against tough opponents is hard to do. I think this trip really showed our depth and versatility.”
In the sixth and final Pilots game of the trip, the men played a strong and organized first half against the host Falcons before struggling to grab rebounds in the second taking a competitive loss 81-116. Coach shared his joy for the trip to BC stating “overall it was a pretty successful trip for us. Measuring ourselves to these good PACWEST teams and realizing we are right here in terms of level is very encouraging 1 week before our season opener Vs CMU and 2 weeks away from our Home Opener Vs USB. We know we still have work to do to win the league, but the team is ready. Go Pilots!”

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The Pilots volleyball teams begin their MCAC regular season at home this coming weekend at the brand-new home game facility in Niverville on November 5th and 6th while the basketball squads begin their MCAC regular season on the road at CMU on November 5th.