The R.F. Staples Thunderbirds senior boys volleyball team brought home a silver medal from a tournament in Camrose last weekend, after losing a tight final match against Bawlf.
Coach Steve McKenna said while it’s always better to come home with a gold than a silver, the team has nothing to feel bad about after the weekend performance.
“The kids played spectacular this weekend. It was good ball,” the coach said.
The T-Birds went undefeated through the round-robin in the 16-team tournament, hosted by Camrose Composite High School, and stayed undefeated through the playoffs to face Bawlf, who were also undefeated.
It set the stage for a very exciting final game.
Bawlf came out strong taking an early lead in the first match, but the T-Birds weren’t going to be easily dissuaded.
“We were down by four or five points but ended up battling back and taking the first game,” coach McKenna said.
“The second match was a little bit of a mental lapse; they lost focus.”
With one match each under the belts, it all came down the third and final match, which was neck-in-neck the whole time.
“The third match was back and forth, back and forth, and we ended up losing 17-15,” McKenna said.
While disappointing, the loss didn’t come as a result of any errors or anything lacking on the part of the T-Birds — Bawlf really stepped up and played well.
“It was just nice digs on their part, and it really kind of solidified the win for them,” McKenna said.
“We had some really nice plays but they were able to pick the balls up.”
He noted he was especially impressed with Matt Schroeder’s performance; the setter had one of the best performances of his high-school career so far.
“He just made smart choices and really led the team,” coach McKenna said.
The medal was sweet for the T-Birds, who came away from the season-opening tournament in Barrhead Sept. 7-8 empty-handed after being knocked out of the semifinals.
That tournament, however, had the same pattern of tight games — the T-Birds didn’t give up anything easily.
“We lost to the eventual winners of the tournament, and even that game, we lost each game by two or three points,” he said. “They were close matches.”
With two strong showings at back-to-back tournament, the team is full of confidence heading into this weekend’s tournament in Whitecourt and further down the line for the rest of the volleyball season.
“The boys realize they have every chance in the world of making provincials this year. They can play with anybody and you can see that in their play,” McKenna said.
“They’re just full of confidence.”
That confidence will serve them will this season, with a rigorous pace of tournaments every weekend until Thanksgiving. Zones and provincials are slated for November.
While it’s a lot of work, McKenna said the experience is certain to help them as the season goes on.
“The game plan is more play, more experience,” he said.
“When you learn how to play in different situations you learn how to win.”
