The EPC senior boys volleyball continued their red-hot winning streak, claiming their fifth straight tournament title in Edson Nov. 7.
“Five in a row now, that’s something I haven’t experienced before,” said Predators head coach Chad LeMessurier,. “I think that makes it 32 games in a row now, so definitely it’s nice momentum.”
The Predators started out strong in the two-day affair, finishing first overall in their pool in the round robin. The team didn’t lose a single set, giving them a bye into the semifinals, where they faced Eckville High School.
The Predators swiftly defeated Eckville 25-5 and 25-10 in a game LeMessurier said to be their most dominant.
“I don’t know what happened, it was ridiculous,” he said.
“One of our strengths is our diversity of attack. Our ability to have five hitters out there that pose a threat.
“We definitely used that to our advantage. Their blockers weren’t able to get a read on us at all, so there was no block presence and we were able to put the ball away.”
The Predators next faced Edson’s Parkland Composite High School in the finals, where they managed to take it to them in consistent fashion. The team didn’t surrender a single set, scoring 25-15 and 25-16 wins.
“We won all straight sets and didn’t let any team score more then 18 points, which shows good constancy,” he said.
“I was happy with the fact that we went on very few runs where we gave up points in bunches, which is our focus right now, but we were able to keep that to a minimum. We are very successful coming into a matched fired up.
“If a team gives us a reason to really heighten our game and give us that little extra zip in our game that seems to be when we’re the best.”
With the zones just a weekend away LeMessurier said the boys are feeling very confident. The top six teams in the region coverage on Westlock Nov. 20-21 for the zone championship.
“Zones are always competitive,” he explained.
“Morinville and Barrhead, those are two teams that we’ve been hearing a lot about and I think these guys have something to prove against those two teams.
“I looking forward to be pushed a little bit too and see what this team is truly capable of.”
