An outstanding performance by the Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) Elecs senior boys volleyball team at their annual home tournament on the weekend came to a frustrating end in the championship final.
The Elecs won all 12 sets in the six pre-pool and pool games to lead off the tournament and then dispatched the Carnduff Education Complex Tigers 25-22 and 25-17 in the playoff semifinals. Awaiting the home side in the final was the Weyburn Comprehensive School Eagles, which also went 12-0 in preliminary action before knocking off the Oxbow Prairie Horizon School Black Knights 25-20 and 25-20.
“We see Estevan a lot,” said Eagles coach Mike Onstad. “We see them in almost every tournament including the Co-op Challenge and they’re a good team and we always like good matchups.”
ECS jumped out of the gates in the final going up 2-0 and then 3-2 on kills by Jordan Fichter before Elec Logan Stepp helped put his team ahead 7-3 on a three-point unbroken serve. The Eagles battled back shortly after on a five-point serve by Paul Dionne that helped his team to a 12-10 lead.
The Elecs regained the advantage on Preston Audet’s serve with a series of hard spikes at the side of the net by Fichter, Sage Dayman and Lais Lindquist bumping up their lead to 19-14. Each club battled back and forth for the rest of the set with Fichter providing the dagger in the 25-20 victory with a hit at the net that found the floor on the far side of the Eagles court.
The Elecs and Eagles exchanged points at the beginning of the second set until Dionne came up to serve and proceeded to score two straight points on aces. Dionne notched another seven points in the unbroken serve to put his team up 14-5 and shift the momentum squarely onto the Eagles side.
Nathan Johnson, coach of the Elecs, said during the Eagles 10-point run his side played three straight balls that were going out of bounds and that may have come from the Elecs giving Dionne too much respect. He said it is never wrong to play a ball when it’s close to the line, but during that run they lost track of the ones that were way out.
ECS made it close late in the second set battling to within two points on a four-point serve by Stepp to bring the score to 19-17, but Weyburn took over after that with Dionne notching three straight points on his serve to end the frame 25-18.
The Eagles dominated the third and final set jumping out to a 7-1 lead on strong play at the net by Devon Pompu and Walker Happ that saw the duo not only score on their chances but also put up a suppressive blocking defence. Weyburn’s Levi Woodard ended the match and gave his team the 15-7 win with a kill at the net on a volley off Elec Justin Van Achte’s serve.
“This is actually our second tournament win,” said Onstad. “We’re just playing really good. We’re battling some injuries, but we’re working through it.”
Johnson said the result may not have been the one they were looking for, but the team did enjoy a good run until the final and the boys should be happy with how the weekend went. He said the veteran squad has won one tournament, lost in three finals, fell in a match they shouldn’t have in Swift Current and bowed out in the semifinals at a Moose Jaw tourney the weekend before the homestand and the hope is this experience will help the club put on a good showing when they host the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association regional championships on Nov. 11 and 12.
“It’s a good tuneup for our kids,” said Johnson. “Weyburn is going to be tough in the region. Swift Current is very tough in our region and Balgonie is going to be tough, so we’re going to have four very good teams (playing) for three spots at provincials. It’s going to be a great weekend.”
