The Sea to Sky Sirens returned to their winning ways with a dominant 340-109 win over Chilliwack's NWO at Brennan Park on Saturday (July 7).
The Sirens scored early and often, building a 58 point lead just 10 jams into the contest. Melissa "Spunky Monkey" Tull helped break the bout open for the Sirens with a 30 point jam and the team smothered the opposition from that point on.
"It was a great game and we really stuck to our strategy," Tull said, noting that this is the first season for the new NWO squad. "I think us having that extra season really helped us today."
Tull said it was a big bounce back game for the Sirens after dropping their last home game to the Harbour City Rollers on June 23.
"We were up for two-thirds of that game but we got into some penalty trouble and lost our focus," she said. "It feels really nice to get another win."
NWO head coach "Roller Doobie" said his team took the loss in stride.
"It was quite the learning experience for us," he said. "We're only a six month old team but still we were humbled today. We did score 100 points but we got in penalty trouble but overall it was a fun time."
The Sirens ended the first half with a 200-26 lead and Doobie said he was pleased with the way his team responded in the second half. The Sirens will next take on the Whistler Roller Girls in the team's season finale on July 21. Tull said she's looking forward to the final match but feels good about how the Sirens have developed.
"We're so lucky because we've got such a huge roster of talented girls," she said. "This season we've had such an amazing group of new girls who are really gung ho about learning skills and because of our experience from last year we can train them up much faster."
Tull and the Sirens beat Whistler back on June 2 but she expects a tougher test when the two teams battle again.
"We love Whistler and it should be an exciting bout," she said. "It'll be interesting to see the difference in Whistler from their first game. Obviously we're still hoping for us to win but they're gunning for it and they should be better with some experience."
The Sirens final bout on July 21 will be a doubleheader as they will take on Whistler in the early bout, followed by a special co-ed mixed bout that will feature members of the Vancouver Murder men's team.
For more information on the Sirens, visit www.squamishrollerderby.ca.
