The Edwin Parr Composite senior boys Predators volleyball team came out on top at the Wow Pow Tournament in Lac La Biche last Saturday and Sunday, still high off their success at their own Predators Invitational home tournament Oct. 18–19.
At the invitational tournament at the multiplex, there were 16 boys teams. It was the first time the team had won their home tournament “in a number of years,” according to head coach Chad LeMessurier.
“In a way, this was an unlikely win considering we were missing our talented starting setter, Max Elgert,” said LeMessurier.
Still, LeMessurier said he felt Thomas Weber did an “excellent job” filling in as a setter, and “the rest of the team showed a lot of character.”
The team had a rocky time in round-robin play, losing two straight sets to Lac La Biche (19-25, 26-27).
“However, we seemed to overcome the nerves and uncertainty associated with having players play unfamiliar positions, and we went on to defeat Fort McMurray Composite (25-14, 25-14) and École Plamondon (25-21, 25-13),” said LeMesssurier, which placed the team second in their pool.
This matched the Predators up against École Beauséjour in the quarter finals, Bonnyville in the semi-finals and Holy Trinity (Fort McMurray) in the finals.
The Predators won all three playoff matches in two straight sets.
“I am very proud of the boys for their achievement; however, we need to quickly refocus, continue training and prepare for the remaining stretch of the season,” said LeMessurier following the Athabasca tournament.
This past weekend, the senior boys defended their title at the Wow Pow Tournament.
The tournament features 20 boys and 20 girls teams.
In the round robin Friday, the Predators beat Bonnyville’s Notre Dame High School in two straight sets (25-11, 25-16), but ran into some trouble in their second match, losing two out of three sets against École Mallaig Community School (25-17, 22-25, 9-15).
The Predators made a speedy comeback, winning their third round-robin match in two straight sets against Fort McMurray’s Holy Trinity Catholic High School (25-11, 25-22).
“I thought our passing and serve reception has been and was once again a strength for us,” said LeMessurier. “Our ability to pass their serves is really good.”
The coach said this makes a big difference when passing to the setters so they can set up a good shot. He said the team’s middle hitters have shown improvement.
However, LeMessurier said he still wants to see his team work on its blocking and defensive play.
“I’m happy with the tournament win, but I’m not satisfied yet,” said LeMessurier.
Their fourth match was against Andrew School. The match was up and down, but the Predators managed to pull through with a few tight scores (25-21, 23-25, 15-10) to qualify for quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, the Predators faced off against Cold Lake, beating them in two straight sets. EPC went on to win the semifinals against Two Hills, also in two straight sets.
LeMessurier described Two Hills as “a very scrappy, real defensive team.”
The Predators faced Redwater School in the finals. The Redwater team showed off some expert blocking techniques, said LeMessurier, and was very strong at the net in that regard.
The final score for the Predators was 27-25, 23-25, 15-7.
Predators setter Max Elgert was named the tournament MVP. LeMessurier believes he was chosen because of his strong settings abilities.
“He’s showing abilities beyond his years already,” said LeMessurier.
LeMessurier said his two power hitters, Damien McKay and Evan Kaminski, played a strong role in the Predators’ success, clinching the Wow Pow win.
“Any time you try to become consistent with a high school volleyball team, it’s difficult, because we’re learning still, and there’s lots of factors that could come into play. But this group of boys is showing me this year that they’re willing to put in the time,” said LeMessurier. “I’ve got some veterans on here that are doing a good job of maintaining consistencies.”
The senior boys will be heading to a tournament at Parkland Composite High School in Edson from Nov. 1–2 before heading to the Zones Tournament in Barrhead and, if they qualify, provincials in late November at Edmonton’s Saville Community Sports Centre.
“If we finish in the top two at zones, we will have earned the honour of representing our school at provincials for the second straight year,” said LeMessurier with high hopes for his team.
