BARRHEAD – It was not the result the Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) Gryphons were hoping for, but it was still a successful tournament for both the boys and girls squads.
On the Oct. 22-23 weekend, BCHS hosted a 16-team tournament, with the boys finishing in the Top 4 and the top BCHS girls team losing in the consolation finals.
On the boy's side, the Gryphons opened with a win defeating Whitecourt's Hilltop High School in two sets, 25-20 and 25-18. In their second game, the boys lost in two sets 27-26 and 25-22, against St. Albert Catholic High School, rebounding with a win against Beaverlodge High School, 25-21 and 25-22, which was good enough for first place in their pool.
On the second day, the boys faced the Ardrossan High School Titans, who finished second in their pool, with a 2-1 record, losing in two sets, 25-16 and 25-19.
On the girl's side, BCHS had two entries due to a last-minute cancellation from the Peace Wapiti team.
The BCHS1 squad opened the tournament by defeating the Hilltop Chargers from Whitecourt 25-20 and 25-21 before losing their next two round-robin games to St. Albert's Catholic High School (25-12 and 25-8) and Beaverlodge (25-23 and 25-22) finishing third in their pool. BCHS' second team ended the round-robin winless, going 3-0, and finishing fourth in their pool. Their closest game was their opening match against Parkland which went three sets.
In the playoff rounds, both BCHS teams won their first games in the consolation finals stream, with BCHS1 defeating La Crete, while BCHS2 beat Morinville Community High School. The wins put them into the semi-finals against each other to see who would move on to the consolation finals. In the battle of Barrhead, the BCHS1 squad came out on top, winning in straight sets, 25-21 and 25-19.
The squads would reunite to face Fort Saskatchewan, but it would not be enough, as the Gryphons lost in two sets, 25-10 and 25-22.
Girls coach Kyle Becker said it was a challenging tournament for his two squads, but he said he was proud of their effort and that their play continued to improve as the tournament went on.
Boys coach Rod Callihoo said he was pleased with the Top 4 finish, adding had they been a little more consistent with their serving they might have been able to improve on their finish.
He added that consistency is something the Gryphons have been battling this season, especially on the defensive side, but there he also continues to see improvement, he said.
"They are in a tough situation this year. We have a bit of a younger squad, and because of the success we've had as a school over the years, there is a lot of expectation, but they've handled it well," Callihoo said.
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