The Lions Western Canadian Challenge promises to bring out the best in St. Albert’s medal hopefuls.
The St. Albert Skyhawks and Bellerose Bulldogs are among 24 women’s teams competing in today’s playoff round in the 17th annual high school volleyball tournament.
“We want to perform as best as we can at the WCC and have the games of our lives and make the plays of our lives,” said Janelle Gervais, captain of the Skyhawks and Grade 12 power hitter. “We know what we want to achieve and we’re going to go out and do it.”
The Bulldogs have played their strongest volleyball in tournaments, finishing second at Jasper Place and fourth at Grande Prairie.
“We’re looking for some wins because we have been a really big tournament team this year,” said Bobi Broadbent, a Grade 12 Bellerose middle. “Hopefully we can do that at the WCC and come up with some big momentum for the rest of our league games.”
The Bulldogs dropped to 1-7 in the metro Edmonton premier conference after Wednesday’s five-set loss to the Skyhawks.
“We played really strong and had a really good game,” Broadbent said. “Our setter (Mikaela Tziklas) was passing the ball around really well and our power, Amanda (Keane), was really swinging the ball. Every time she got it in the last set she would kill it.”
The 6-2 Skyhawks prevailed 22-25, 25-22, 26-28, 25-14, 15-13 in the marathon affair at the SkyDome.
“It was a good effort, but the end part was when we started to shine,” Gervais said. “The beginning was a little bit shaky because our nerves were going, but in the last bit of the match we really pulled through and came together as a team.”
The Bulldogs won the first set after an eight-point run with Broadbent at the service line put them ahead to stay. Bellerose captain Sam Mickelsen took charge down the stretch to score the team’s final two points.
Amber Easthope, the Skyhawks’ riveting Grade 11 power hitter, tattooed a couple of Bulldogs with body shots in the set. Gervais was also a huge presence from the right side. The third-year Skyhawk pounded the ball with authority.
The score was tied nine times during a second set dominated by blistering hits and wicked blocks. After the Bulldogs jumped in front 22-21 with consecutive points by Cynthia Johnson’s spike, Broadbent’s off-balance hit and Mickelsen’s ace, the Skyhawks rattled off four in a row for the win. A couple of erratic hits by the Bulldogs allowed the Skyhawks to capture the set.
“The first two sets we kind of came out a little bit shaky. We didn’t perform as well as we wanted. After that we just regained our focus, figured out what we needed to do and what our roles were and came out strong as a team and had success in the end,” said Gervais, 17.
The third set went down to the wire after the teams took turns racking up long point runs. A rash of serves into the net at the end kept the score close. Mickelsen’s spike made it 26-25, then Gervais tied it with a blast down the line. Keane broke the tie with a ball that landed fair and Brittney Sharawara was credited with the block on the winning point.
The Skyhawks regrouped in the fourth set with their best all-around performance of the match. The strong-hitting Easthope riddled the Bulldogs for a number of points as the Skyhawks gradually pulled away to end the set with a seven-point run. Nicole Clayton’s exceptional serving late in the set resulted in several points.
“Their number three (Clayton) had a really strong float serve. It took us a really long time to pick it up so we couldn’t get a pass to our setter, which couldn’t get us any offence to get some momentum going in the game,” said Broadbent, 17.
With momentum on their side in the deciding set, the Skyhawks led 8-3 at the switch and were up by seven before the Bulldogs got their hits to stick to make it close. Kendall Lydon sparked the Skyhawks’ attack with her hitting and blocking
“We’re a five-set team and we worked hard to not only get there but win it,” Gervais said. “We got a couple of huge hits and a couple of huge blocks, which were really important. We also had some huge digs and they brought up our spirits and our hard work.”
EXTRA SERVES: A new women’s champion will be crowned tonight at the WCC tournament. The Paul Kane Blues, the two-time defending gold medallists, are not entered this year. The final is 8 p.m. Bellerose Composite High School
The final in the 24-team men’s draw is 8 p.m. at Morinville Community High School.
Visit www.mchs.gsacrd.ab.ca/wcc/ for the playoff schedule and tournament results.
