St. Albert volleyball player Matt Clayton spiked gold at nationals for the second time in four years at the recent Canadian Open in Toronto.
Clayton started at middle for the Green Bears of the Northern Alberta Volleyball Club and the U17 team lost only two sets overall en route to a perfect 9-0 record and the championship.
“It was awesome. I've never been on a team of that calibre before so doing something like that was really important. I will remember it for a real long time, said Clayton, 17.
The accomplishment surpassed his first gold medal at the club level.
“It was the U15 western nationals and this is the first time that we went to an all out nationals. There was way more people. It was a totally different atmosphere. It was really cool,” Clayton said.
Volleyball Canada for the first time staged its six national championship events together under one roof. More than 800 teams competed in 14 categories, ranging in age from 12 to 65 across 54 courts at the Direct Energy Centre in Exhibition Place.
The U17 division featured 35 teams and the Green Bears were the best of the bunch.
“We were definitely playing our best ball while we were there. We started off kind of the same as usual and then we picked it up the second day. The third day we kept getting better because the competition kept getting better,” Clayton said.
The Green Bears swept the Maverick Desperadoes from Ottawa for the championship after prevailing in a three-set thriller against the Pakmen from Mississauga in the semifinal.
“The final was pretty one sided but the semifinal was actually really close. We lost the first set and then we won the second set. In the third set we were winning 11-4 and then they came back and were winning 14-13 and then we won 16-14,” Clayton said. “It was definitely an emotional win but then we had to get our heads back into it and play another game.”
Clayton’s four-year stint with the Green Bears included four provincial club championships and numerous premier tournament victories.
“A lot of the people you play against in high school are on your team. It’s a lot of fun,” said the Grade 12 Edmonton Christian High School student. “In high school volleyball a lot of people are doing it as an extra-curricular thing to keep active and in club volleyball it’s people who you see in high school who make their school teams good. It’s definitely the next level.”
The six-foot-two Clayton is smaller than most middles on the court.
“Some people might underestimate when they see how small I am but when I go out there I try and get as many blocks as I can,” said the former St. Albert Skyhawk. “My role is being an aggressive blocker and an aggressive hitter all the time. I just want the ball and hopefully get isolation out to our outsides for our right side and power.”
After leading the Edmonton Christian Lions to a gold medal at the 3A provincial high school championship in November, Clayton was recruited by the King’s University College Eagles to play in the Alberta Colleges’ Athletic Conference.
“I’ve watched Matt since the high school season and his work ethic and mental toughness on the court has impressed me,” said Eagles’ head coach Trevor Turner. “He is not very big for the middle position but he has a tremendous jump and sees the blockers very well with his attack. As well, he reads the play on the other side and puts up a good block for our back row defence. I know he will do well at this level.”
