BARRHEAD - The future of high school volleyball in Barrhead looks bright, if the results of the North Central Alberta Tier 1 Zone championships are any indication.
On Nov. 5, the Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) Jaguars swept the Tier 1 Championships in Edson, taking gold in both the boys' and girls' divisions.
The teams consist mainly of Grade 8 and 9 players; however, the girl Jaguars also had two Grade 7s.
On the boy's side, the Jags went undefeated and faced a tough host team, one that they lost to a few weeks earlier in their second tournament of the year.
While on the girl's side, Barrhead faced their arch-rivals from Westlock, the R.F. Staples Thunderbirds, a team they had battled neck-and-neck all season, winning in three sets.
Boy's coach, Kevin Geinger, said both squads played well right from the start of the season, adding that BCHS entered three tournaments before the divisional and zone championship tournaments.
He added the teams got off to a strong start, taking gold in the first tournament of the year in Spruce Grove.
They followed it up with another strong performance a few weeks later in a tournament in Westlock. The girls earned silver, narrowly losing to St. Albert's Vincent J. Maloney Catholic High School, while the boys lost in the semi-finals to a stubborn Edson squad.
In their third tournament in Morinville, the boys won their second gold medal, while the girls were edged out by Westlock's R.F. Staples taking silver.
In the divisional championships, on Oct. 29 at the Westlock Spirit Centre, the BCHS boys topped the podium, while the girls won silver, again losing to the R.F. Staples Thunderbirds.
"This is very good news for Barrhead volleyball," Geinger said. "Our boys had a fantastic year, taking four out of five gold medals, with one bronze. We showed tremendous growth throughout the year, demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship, learned how to work hard and play as a team, and proved to other teams that we wanted it more, battling hard right to the end of every game.
As for the girls' side, he said, the BCHS Jaguars were solid the entire season. The only team that truly gave them trouble was the R.F. Staples Thunderbirds, an excellent team in their own right.
"Some of the best volleyball matches I've seen were when our girls squared off against Westlock," Geinger said. "When you look at the play of both our boys and girls teams, it looks like Barrhead volleyball is once again on the upswing."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
