The R.F. Staples senior girls volleyball team walked away with silver medal at the weekend’s tournament in Spruce Grove.
The Thunderbirds were headed for gold when they lost out in the finals to Barrhead with scores of 25-19 and 25-18.
“The girls were just pooped by that time, so we lost that in two sets, but they played very hard,” said T-Bird assistant coach Colleen Toews.
The 16-team tournament had the girls place second in their pool going into the second day of matches, putting them in a head-to-head match with the Peace River Nomads. They won that match and progressed to the semi-finals against Peace Wapiti.
“The set against Peace Wapiti was a really, really close match, so they did well there and they were just a little burned out for the finals, but they put up a good play,” she said.
They took the first set 33-31, lost the second 25-27 and narrowly won the third with 17-15 to head into the finals against Barrhead.
“We just had a really long day today in the playoffs and the Peace Wapiti game so, I think, as the season goes on, we’re absolutely expecting to be out there to playoffs and on to provincials this year,” Toews said.
Despite fatigue on the court, she said the team held up well and did a good job of putting balls away and making clean passes.
“They were just very, very consistent players. Emily Hood setting was very good and she had some very consistent passes. Lauren Toma and Brittany van de Ligt put away a lot of balls,” she said, adding that the entire starting lineup was extremely strong throughout the tournament.
This strength is due in large part to the experience the team has working with one another, Toews said.
“We had a really strong team last year and they played consistent and now it’s their year to shine,” she said. “The strength of working together for so long and getting to know each other so well on the court really shows in their performance.”
Many of the players this year have played on the team together before, making their chemistry on the court a definite asset.
“They’ve been together for years. They know each other really well and work really well together on the court,” she said, adding that the future is looking towards zones and provincials.
The team worked its way to a gold medal at last weekends tournament in Whitecourt, something that boosted team moral and gave the team a taste of the competition they will likely face in zones and provincials.
The R. F. Staples Thunderbirds senior girls volleyball team will take the court again this weekend in Spruce Grove.
