The R.F. Staples senior girls volleyball team came one match away from punching their ticket to the provincial championships.
At the 3A zone championships hosted in Morinville Nov. 14-15, the T-Birds were flying high until the Saturday-night final. Versus the Morinville Community High School Wolves, the club simply ran out of steam dropping the final match 17-25, 16-25.
“Even though they didn’t win, I think that they all kind of peaked in the end,” said head coach Stephen Womack.
Coming into year-ending tournament they were ranked in second in the zone following their successes over the season. After finishing first in the round robin, they secured a bye to the semifinal round against Barrhead. At first they struggled.
“Barrhead coming into that game was just coming off a win in the quarter finals,” explained Womack. “It’s really difficult to play a team that’s just coming off a straight-set win. We came out pretty flat losing the first set.”
Ultimately the T-Birds were able to rebound, winning the following two sets to advance to the final.
“The girls never let that frustrate them and they continued to progress as the game went on,” added Womack. “That kind of growth, even though they’re not getting the results they wanted was what we’ve been working on all year, and that is what they did when they had to do it in the Barrhead game.”
Now he’ll be looking to fill some roster spots, as seven of his players will be graduating. Even still, he has a lot to look forward to with his other five players returning.
“Those girls played very well, so I’m optimistic about the coming season.”
