WESTLOCK — Both sides of the St. Mary School senior volleyball program battled through a lot of up and downs this weekend at the Joe Nestorovich Memorial Volleyball Tournament, which ended with the boys winning gold and the girls earning bronze.
The two-day tournament was hosted Oct. 20-21 at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre and featured a total of nine boys’ and girls’ teams from Spruce Grove, New Sarepta, Thorhild, Morinville, Neerlandia, Redwater and Jasper. (There was also one junior varsity team from R.F. Staples on the girls’ side.)
The St. Mary senior boys had a fairly strong start at the tournament by finishing second in their pool. They defeated Canadian Covenant Reformed School (CCRS) from Neerlandia, Living Waters from Spruce Grove and Thorhild in two sets each, but lost one match to New Sarepta in two sets.
After passing through the next two playoff rounds, the boys found themselves in a tough matchup against Jasper, who had finished first in their own pool by going undefeated.
The Sharks won their first set 25-22, but Jasper gave them a much tougher fight in the second set and eventually gained a lead of nine points.
Unbelievably, St. Mary managed to battle back and had closed the gap to a single point, but then Jasper managed to take the win 26-24.
Fortunately, the third set ended in a much more straightforward 15-9 victory for the St. Mary Sharks.
Coach Vance Nakonechny said he was really proud of the effort his team put in, adding that they showed a lot of resiliency, especially in the playoffs.
“We had ups and downs, but the team never quit on each other. They really lifted each other up when they needed it,” he said.
Nakonechny said that while their seniors led the way, everybody ultimately chipped in and filled their role.
“I’m proud of them all,” he said.
Nakonechny said this was their first tournament win of the season, as they had lost out in the quarter-finals of a couple of other events.
“It’s nice to finish off a playoff round,” he said. “You kind of have to go through those battles and learn how to win, and this was a good weekend for that.”
Senior girls
The St. Mary senior girls had a more inauspicious start at the tournament, finishing third in their pool. They defeated Gerard Redmond from Hinton in two sets and New Sarepta in three sets but lost to CCRS and Thorhild in three fairly close sets each.
In the quarter-finals, the senior girls defeated R.F. Staples in three sets, but lost in the semi-finals to Thorhild.
The bronze medal match ended with the St. Mary girls overcoming New Sarepta in three hard-fought sets. They won the first set, lost the second and then swept to victory in the third.
Coach Jordyn Walker said they had high expectations going into the weekend, and they definitely played games where they saw the potential of their squad.
“That’s really good to see it, because we haven’t seen it thus far into the season,” she said, noting they’ve only played in one tournament this year at Thorhild where they didn’t make the playoffs.
Walker said their bronze medal finish represented a real team effort, which was really good to see.
“We still have lots of work to do, but we are happy with the result of the weekend, and I feel like we placed quite fairly,” she said.
