The Paul Kane Blues completed what they started Wednesday by sweeping the St. Albert Skyhawks in premier women’s high school volleyball action.
The 2010 metro Edmonton champions from Paul Kane polished off the 3A provincial contenders 25-13, 25-11, 25-23 at the SkyDome.
“We’re having a difficult time finishing our matches a little bit so it was good today that we finished it in three,” said Paul Kane captain Whitney Follette.
The Blues dominated the first and second sets, then hung tough to seal the deal.
“We came out hard. We controlled the ball on our side so it was easier for us to attack and take control of the match,” Follette said. “In the third set we kind of lost some energy and then at the end we just had to finish hard. We didn’t want to go to four so we just finished it off.”
The Skyhawks showed flashes of their winning form in the third set.
“We weren’t ready to play today,” said Amber Easthope, the Skyhawks’ explosive power hitter. “We started off a little flat and then we tried to get back into it, but it was too late.”
The Blues broke open the first set during a 9-4 run to lead by five, then pulled away with five straight points for a 21-11 lead. Jill Tymko and Maddi Agius ignited the hitting attack on feeds by setter Hailey Lutz.
Follette’s spike in the second set triggered a six-point run with Jordan Greco serving. Another smash by Follette and Tymko’s block widened the gap to 11-3. Staunch serving by Follette during two separate trips to the line, plus the net presence of Tymko, Larissa Kirdeikis and Mackenzie Bender, was too much for the Skyhawks to handle.
After giving up five in a row early in the third set, the Blues got back on track while limiting the Skyhawks to very few runs of two or more points. The visitors went ahead to stay during a run of five, backed by Kirdeikis’ serving. A combination of Skyhawks’ miscues, pinpoint serves from Greco and Follette and key hits by Follette and Michaela Ouimet during a 7-2 point spree left the Blues in control at 24-18. The Skyhawks rallied with four in a row before Ouimet scored the match-winning point off a block.
“It was their second line out there and some of our second-line players too, so it was close,” said Easthope.
The noted Grade 11 basketball player is a small but spring-loaded jumper who registered the bulk of the Skyhawks’ points in the match from the left side.
The loss was only the second in six matches for the Skyhawks who have only six Grade 12 students on the 12-player roster.
“We’re a young team. We don’t have a lot of club players so we’re doing really good with the athletes we have,” Easthope said.
“The big thing is we try so hard. We really go for balls. Even if they’re hard we still go for them. We’re also good at bringing each other up. We always say, ‘Shake it off and get the next one.’”
The Blues are 4-1 in premier with a line-up bolstered by five returnees from last year’s eighth-place showing at the 4A provincials.
In the provincial rankings the Blues share third place with Sir Winston Churchill of Calgary as the top metro rep and the second-highest ranked Edmonton zone team.
“We’re improving really quickly and getting stronger. At the beginning of the season we had a lot of potential and we knew it,” said Follette, a six-foot-two tower of power in the middle.
The first loss in premier this year for the Blues was Monday’s five-set decision against the Holy Trinity Trojans in the rematch of the last year’s premier final won 25-11, 25-20, 17-25, 29-31, 15-7 by Paul Kane.
“They came out really hard. They were basically playing their city final game right there. They came out to beat us for revenge I guess,” said Follette. “They played well. They out-defended us. We didn’t have the same energy they had either. They wanted to win that game more than we wanted to win it.”
The Blues were coming off a third-place result at the Harry Ainlay TVT tournament. They won four and lost two in the seven-team round robin for a spot in the medal round. In the playoffs they defeated MBCI of Winnipeg.
“That’s a really big tournament with good teams. We played hard and it was a lot of fun to get bronze,” Follette said.
The Blues also finished third at the Bev Facey tournament.
“It was a good semifinal for us against Scona [ranked no. 1 in 4A]. They’re a strong team and we had a great comeback in that game. We then won bronze against Spruce Grove Panthers,” Follette said.
The Blues are striving to repeat as premier champions while qualifying for their third provincials in three years.
“We’re going for it again and going hard for it,” said Follette, 16. “We know we’re a strong team and everyone wants to beat us but we’re determine to go all the way this year.”
