Both of Edwin Parr Composite School’s senior volleyball teams were in Barrhead over the weekend for a season-opening tournament.
Both the boys and girls teams had competitive showings in their first game action of the new season.
Under the direction of new head coach Joe Mireault, the girls team went undefeated on the first day of the tournament last Friday, winning three games (and all of them in two sets).
The next day they lost a close three-set game to Westlock, and then dropped the consolation final against Hilltop.
“The girls played well. They got those first tournament jitters out of the way,” said the coach. “They brought a lot of emotion on the first day; we fell a little short on Saturday. We’ve definitely got some things to build on in practice.”
The event also gave the team a chance to get to know the new coach, and vice versa.
“I think it’s going pretty good. We had a lot of fun this weekend. It was a good team building experience,” said the coach.
The team will practice this week and next in advance of tournaments in Whitecourt next weekend and Lac La Biche the weekend after that.
EPC’s senior boys team was also present in Barrhead, and they also got off to a hot start before coming up a little short.
Their first two games of the tournament were victories over Edson and a team from High Prairie.
“Beating Edson was nice; that’s a team we had a tough time with last year,” said coach Chad LeMessurier.
After a team dropped out of EPC’s pool, they played an exhibition game against Barrhead, which the coach saw as a great opportunity to get a look at a team that is always one of the province’s best. The local boys lost a close game in three sets.
In the quarterfinal they beat Whitecourt in two sets before meeting Barrhead in the semis and losing.
“(In that game) we came out flat against a very beatable team this year. I don’t think we really put our best foot forward,” said the coach. “We’ll learn from it and move on.”
The tournament gave EPC a chance to compete against a number of teams in their zone, and the early exposure to them will help later on when the games mean more.
“We placed third, which is promising since there are three berths to provincials this year. It’s a very good way to start,” he said.
“I’m encouraged to see the improvement over last year. Some players have really developed. Neil Topola is a horse for us again, and Keegan Richardson has made huge strides over the summer. They’re all doing good. It’s very promising.”
This weekend the boys will compete in a tournament at the University of Alberta in what the coach calls a “who’s who” of provincial volleyball.
“We’ll be in tough, but it should be a good test.”
