Athabasca’s senior high volleyball teams were on fire at the 41st annual J.A. Williams High School Wow Pow Tournament in Lac La Biche last weekend.
Edwin Parr Composite’s senior girls had a strong showing, ultimately bowing out in the semi-finals. But it was the senior boys that made the weekend their own, as they didn’t even lose a single set on their way to winning the gold.
The team went 5-0 in the round robin and earned a bye to the quarterfinals, where they knocked off Redwater 25-20 and 25-15.
In the semi finals they played what coach Chad LeMessurier called the toughest match of the tournament against Rundle College from Calgary, but despite being shorthanded, they came out on top 25-21 and 25-20, trumping the favoured team. They showed their character in the second set by storming back from a seven-point deficit to win.
“It’s always nice to have the little guy beat the big guy,” said the coach.
In the final they faced a surprise opponent in the form of Mallaig School, a team that had knocked off the favoured Assumption School. But they had no such luck against EPC, dropping the game 25-18 and 25-23.
“We only had eight guys on Saturday; we played some iron man volleyball,” said the coach, noting the team was missing some players due to injury and other commitments.
“It was a solid finish. As a team, we are really focused. Our goal was to make the finals and we did.”
The season is starting to wind down, as the EPC Predators will be in Red Deer for a challenging tournament this weekend before hosting the zone competition on the third weekend of November. They hope to keep their momentum going and earn a spot in the provincial championships.
“If there was ever a group that deserved to get to provincials and prove themselves, it’s this group,” said LeMessurier.
The EPC boys weren’t alone at the tournament as the senior girls were present as well.
“It was a good tournament,” said girls coach Joe Mireault.
“(Losing in the semis) wasn’t the result we wanted, but we had really good competition from Smoky Lake.”
It was that team that knocked off the Predators in the semi-final, but they needed three sets to do it.
“It came down to that third set, and they came out a little bit harder than we did. We tried to play catch up, and we got close, but not close enough.”
Like their male counterparts, the girls were also short some regulars, but they made the best of it and produced a strong showing, according to the coach.
“We’re coming together, overcoming some obstacles and it’s making us stronger,” said the coach. “The girls are having fun, and we’re just fine-tuning our skills.”
The girls will compete at a tournament in Edson this weekend before heading to zones later in November.
“I think we’re ready. We’re going to rise to the occasion when we have to.”
Boyle School’s boys and girls teams were also at the event, though neither made it to the playoff round.
