Barrhead’s junior girls ended their volleyball season on a golden note.
They turned in a glittering performance to overcome their rivals the Westlock T-Birds in Saturday’s zone final at Barr-head Composite High School.
“It was the best volleyball they have played all year. The team was awesome,” said delighted coach Gayle Lamothe.
The two-set victory continues a golden era for the BCHS girls team in the North Central Junior Varsity Volleyball Zone Championship.
It also avenged previous defeats this season against the T-Birds and proved the importance of peaking at the right time.
“You can always learn a lot from losses,” said Lamothe. “We basically changed our game and it worked.”
Lamothe knew the Westlock team did not hit hard, so she used one blocker up front and pulled the other girls back.
The tactics worked a treat with the Gryphons storming into a first set lead they never looked like relinquishing.
They took it 25-14 and began the second set in similar fashion. The T-Birds made a late charge, but never looked convincing against opponents who seemed to anticipate their every move.
The Gryphons clinched the set 25-21 and celebrated on the court before being awarded their gold medals.
It was then time to pose for the cameras and display the banner proclaiming them North Central JV Girls Champions for 2011-2012. Several ecstatic players embraced Lamothe and lifted her off her feet.
At the other end of the gym the T-Birds, coached by Kirsten Brinks, displayed their silver medals. In the bronze medal game, St. Thomas beat Athabasca.
Earlier, it had seemed almost inevitable that Barrhead and Westlock would contest the final.
Nine teams featured in two pools – a stark contrast with the boys’ section which saw only three sides participate.
Barrhead topped their pool with three convincing victories over Athabasca (25-18, 25-21), Hinton (25-15, 25-13) and Thorhild (25-10, 25-10).
Westlock also won their pool at a canter, beating Drayton Valley, Whitecourt, Edson and St. Thomas.
Only St. Thomas put up any resistance before going down 20-25 and 18-25.
In the playoffs Barrhead brushed past St. Thomas 25-14, 25-21 to reach the final against Westlock, who defeated Athabasca.
Lamothe said she had felt confident from the start of the final that the Gryphons would do Barrhead proud.
The team had raised itself to a higher level this season through competing with teams from bigger schools.
The experience of playing against stronger, harder hitting opponents had toughened the girls.
Recently they beat Edmonton’s Harry Ainlay High School, which had been a huge morale booster and cemented self-belief.
Lamothe said her faith in her team had never wavered, even when the T-Birds fought back in the second set.
“I knew from the outset that we had the upper hand,” she said. “After a while in sport you have a sense for these things.”
Lamothe said the Gryphons had added pressure on them because of BCHS’s proud record in the zones.
“It’s a reputation of success that we want to keep going,” she said.
It was a performance cast in gold from the start.
The Junior Gryphons shone in every volleyball department on Saturday – serving, setting, power play and communication.
Perhaps most eye-catching were the spectacular aerial serves that put opponents on the defensive in point after point.
So much so that long before the final ball was hit, it was clear the North Central Junior Varsity Volleyball Zone Championship belonged to the Gryphon boys.
Coach Steve Montgomery was thrilled with the team’s end of season display at BCHS, saying the gold medals were reward for a lot of hard work.
They also proved the strength of Barrhead Composite High School’s volleyball program.
The school enjoyed a double helping of gold this weekend with the girls being crowned champions after taking down rivals Westlock.
“It has been a lot of fun,” said Montgomery. “We’ve had a good year.”
Montgomery said the boys – like the girls – had benefited from playing against teams from bigger schools.
He added a lot of attention had been paid to serving and this had reaped dividends in the tournament.
“You can win a lot of free points with good serves. We served very well today.”
Some of the talent on display will also benefit the Senior Gryphons. Two of the juniors will be bolstering the senior ranks, one of them Calvin Voight.
The only disappointment on Saturday was the number of boys’ teams competing.
Just three took part in the championship – Barrhead, Edson and St. Thomas – thereby guaranteeing each one a medal.
The only question was the colour, although the Gryphons soon erased any doubts with two dominating performances in the pool stage.
Spectacular serving and crushing power play ensured a torrid time for opponents.
Barrhead eased past Edson 25-8, 25-13, and St. Thomas 25-13, 25-10 to book a place in the final.
There they met up with Edson again with the same result. Making full use of their height advantage the Gryphons grabbed both sets, 25-12 and 25-12, and were presented with gold medals.
Nobody could deny they were worthy champions, despite the lack of competition.
Montgomery said volleyball was losing out to the popularity of football and hockey, although the trend wasn’t completely downward. Last year nine teams competed.
“It is really up and down,” he said.
Montgomery said it had been a joy to coach the Gryphons, adding: “They are a group of guys who listen well and work really hard.”
He also paid tribute to assistant coach Craig Connolly, whose help during practices had proved invaluable.
