Some fast paced, entertaining volleyball was played in Athabasca last weekend.
Edwin Parr Composite played host to a senior high tournament. Boys and girls teams from schools around the region made the trip to take part in the two-day event, held at EPC and the Athabasca Regional Multiplex last Friday and Saturday. Though the visiting teams brought plenty of talented athletes with them, the local teams did pretty well for themselves.
On the boy’s side, both EPC and Boyle School had teams in action. The Edwin Parr boys placed second in their pool in the round robin, beating Thorhild and H.A. Kostash and dropping a game to Fort Saskatchewan.
The Boyle Huskies, meanwhile, were fourth in their pool, losing to Barrhead, Plamondon and J.A. Williams.
Though the two teams were seemingly headed in different directions in the tournament, EPC lost to Barrhead in the quarter-finals to set up a match between the local squads in the consolation game. There, Boyle found their footing and impressed their coach, Darrell Bergmann, by beating the hosts to earn fifth place.
“They played their best game of the weekend (against EPC),” said the coach. “They improved 100 per cent from Friday to Saturday, and that’s all we can ask.”
On the EPC side, head coach Chad LeMessurier was a little disappointed with the result, but is confident his team can turn things around.
“Our big focus as a team is finding a way to be better prepared for the first match of the day,” he said, noting the boys were a little sluggish on Saturday morning, which ultimately cost them.
The local girls teams, meanwhile, were dominant at the tournament, and both EPC and Boyle finished first in their pools. Perhaps inevitably, they wound up facing off against each other in the gold medal game, a thrilling, back and forth affair that was won in two close sets by Boyle.
The win was well earned by the Huskies.
“I’m very proud. They’ve come a long way from their younger years,” said coach Michelle Lazenby. “Their attitude on the court and as a team is great.”
The win represented Boyle’s third gold medal in as many tournaments this season.
From an organizational standpoint, the tournament couldn’t have been better, according to LeMessurier.
“Everyone is really close, and that created some good matchups.”
