WESTLOCK – R.F. Staples School’s junior varsity girls volleyball team came up just short of their third tournament title of the year, falling to the Neerlandia Covenant Canadian Reformed School Stingers in the Saturday-night final of St. Mary School’s (SMS) Joe Nestorovich Memorial Tournament.
Hosted Oct. 21-22 at the Rotary Spirit Centre, the T-Birds tore through the girls side of the draw, sweeping Hinton, Grand Trunk and Thorhild, while splitting sets with the Spruce Grove based Living Waters Christian Academy Warriors and the host SMS Sharks. Their only blemish came versus the Stingers, who swept them 2-0.
After disposing of the Warriors 2-0 in the semifinal, the girls charged out to a 20-12 lead in the final versus the Stingers. Unfortunately, it was a lead they wouldn’t be able to hold and they dropped the set 23-25, then lost the clincher 12-25.
Coach Steve McKenna called the event another “great learning experience” as the club had to contend with a slew of injuries and relied on their entire bench throughout the tourney.
“It was a lot of volleyball as by the time it was all done, we had dealt with injuries, illness and had a lot of fatigued girls. But it was a great learning experience for them,” said McKenna. “And it was a good life lesson at the end that nothing is handed to you, you have to work hard to win. Sometimes when you take your foot off the gas, the other team comes back.”
The girls have had a remarkable campaign so far with a pair of tournament titles, including their home tourney trophy back at the start of the month. The club will now head to Redwater this coming weekend for another tourney before playing in the zone championship in Drayton Valley Nov. 4-5 — with no provincials for JV clubs, that will be the culmination of their year.
“This coming weekend we’ll fine-tune everything and hope it all comes together and then the following weekend that’s it, that’s all,” he added.
