Three local volleyball clubs ended their season with a top-four showing at provincials earlier this month, while a fourth squad is using their strong tournament finish as a springboard to Canadian championship success.
The Estevan Extreme 13-and-under volleyball club fell in a back-and-forth Tier 1 bronze medal matchup to finish the season fourth at the April 15-17 Conexus Provincial Volleyball Championships at Saskatoon’s Henk Ruys Centre and Warman’s Legends Centre, while the Lampman LAC Thunder and Oxbow Black Knights completed their year by earning a Division 2 Tier 1 second-place finish and Division 1 Tier 1 third-place showing, respectively. The Estevan Extreme 14U club captured the Division 2 Tier 1 bronze medal with a 25-19, 25-11 win over the Esterhazy Storm, which they are following up with a trip to the Volleyball Canada 14U West Championships in Winnipeg from May 12 to 15.
Sarah Driscoll, coach of the Extreme 14U club, said the girls came together as a team making nice passes and placing their serves in the right spots in the bronze medal game against the Storm. She said the team went 7-1 over the three days, but it was actually their 25-23, 25-23 loss to the Loreburn VC in the semifinals that was their best game of the provincial championships.
The Lampman LAC Thunder went undefeated in six provincial championship games, before falling 25-10, 25-21 to the Loreburn VC in the Division 2 Tier 1 championship match. Thunder coach Shalane Haselhan said nerves may have played a bit of a role in the first set, but they bounced back to make it a game in the second set.
“We had a little pep talk and we calmed them down,” said Haselhan. “We weren’t missing our serves and we were making better plays, so the second set we were hoping to win that one to take it to a third but it was just out of reach.”
Haselhan said the team usually placed fifth to seventh in tournaments during the season, so advancing to second at provincials is a big accomplishment. She said half of the girls on the team were playing their first year of club volleyball, but everyone seemed to get along well together off the court and once on it always got down to business.
Riley Singleton, coach of the Oxbow Black Knights, said they came out a bit flat in the first set of their 22-25, 25-16, 15-13 win over the Battleford VC Impact in the Division 1 Tier 1 bronze medal game. He said they regrouped in the second set and despite giving up a big lead late into the third set found a way to pull out the victory.
“Our goal from the start was top three in the province, but we knew it would be tough,” said Singleton, noting they came into the tournament ranked seventh having split previous games against their provincial competition. “We knew it was going to be balanced. We developed a lot from the beginning of the season to the end and we were playing really well at the end of the season. So, we were thrilled with how the season went.”
The Estevan Extreme 13U club won the first set of their bronze medal game against the Saskatoon JCVC Red 25-20, but fell in the next two 25-20 and 15-9. Jacqueline Da Silva, coach of the 13U Extreme, said they enjoyed a great start to the provincial tournament finishing third in pool play, but just fell short in the close semifinal and bronze medal games.
“The team did amazing,” said Da Silva. “I’ve seen improvement in every single one of them. It was just incredible to watch them from our very first practice to where they are now.”
Driscoll said their next tournament will be a tough one, but the team is well prepared and ready to go. She said their participation in the Volleyball Canada Championships was made possible through the support of Kal Tire in Estevan, which contributed $2,000 to the team in support.
“It's different teams from Manitoba to B.C.,” said Driscoll. “There will be some good competition, but I think they can keep up if they continue to play the way they did at provincials.”
