Hanging by a thread in the 3A provincial qualifier the St. Albert Skyhawks climbed their way back to victory after almost letting it slip away.
Down and nearly out at 13-8 in the deciding set against the Edmonton Christian Lions, the Skyhawks pulled it together during a momentum-shifting seven-point run to clinch an Edmonton zone berth at the high school women's volleyball championship.
“Honestly, when it was 13-8 I was so scared. If we don’t make it to provincials I was going to be so sad,” said a relieved-looking Julia Donnelly, a Grade 11 right-side hitter, after Saturday's 25-16, 27-29, 15-13 suspenseful playoff at the SkyDome.
Things got dicey in the second set after consecutive points by the Skyhawks left the Lions on the verge of defeat. However a point off a block tied it at 24 and the teams would then exchange singles before the Lions finished off the marathon affair with three straight for the 29-27 decision.
A diligent defence kept the Skyhawks in contention late in the set. On the 26th point, clutch digs by libero Abby Schneider and captain Morgan Rigelhof were capped off by Donnelly’s block and the team's 27th point featured dynamic efforts by Rigelhof and setter Jamie Bain leading up Donnelly’s block for the go-ahead score.
After surviving the second-set tussle, the rejuvenated Lions jumped out to a 5-0 lead then withstood a brief rally by the Skyhawks – Donnelly, Rigelhof and power Julia Kormysh finished off plays for points – before registering three in a row to make it 10-6.
The Skyhawks trimmed the deficit to two and the Lions replied with three in a row before head coach Curtis Blair called a timeout to calm down his players. When play resumed, Kormysh scored the team’s seventh point then served the ball the rest of the way for the surging Skyhawks.
At 13-12, Rigelhof bumped the ball over the antenna, which is attached to the net to mark the out of bounds line, and Lions were unable to return it. The referee awarded the point to the Skyhawks but upon consulting with the lines person on the Skyhawks’ side of the floor the point was given to the Lions. Another discussion took place, this time with both lines persons and the ref, and it was agreed the ball didn’t hit the antenna before it touched the Lions’ block and the set was tied at 13.
With the Lions wilting, the Skyhawks attacked the ball with authority and Rigelhof’s block produced the 14th point.
After the Lions gave away the 15th point, the Skyhawks celebrated their startling comeback with an enthusiastic group hug.
“We got down early and it was really hard to come back because they had the momentum going into that set and then we got on a serving run, got some good blocks in and some good serves and it paid off in the end,” said Donnelly, one of four returning Skyhawks from last year's 3A provincial silver medallists.
Credit the Skyhawks for never wavering when it looked bleak.
“We just kept our focus really well. It’s kind of been a thing we’ve been struggling with over the whole season but we really pulled it off together and got it done,” said Bain, a Grade 11 Skyhawk. “There was a lot of pressure, especially since we were first coming in (to the tournament). We worked a whole season to get there so it was now or never kind of thing.”
Provincials start Thursday in Cochrane and the Skyhawks will be joined by the Strathcona Christian Academy Eagles as the Edmonton zone reps in the 12-team draw. Both semifinal winners at zones qualified for provincials and in the final to determine the first and second Edmonton seeds the Skyhawks swept the Eagles 25-15, 25-22.
“It means everything to us,” Donnelly said of the Skyhawks returning to provincials. “We have a really young team this year (three Grade 10s and six Grade 11s) so going back to provincials is a really big thing for us.”
Last year at provincials, the Skyhawks lost an emotionally draining 22-25, 25-14, 18-20 final to the Eagle Butte Talons of Dunmore at the Saville Community Sports Centre. It was 14-13 Skyhawks in the deciding set when they were called for being under the net on what they thought was the gold-medal winning point.
The 2013 Skyhawks are believed to be the first women’s team from St. Albert Catholic High School to not only compete at provincials but to medal.
“We’re all really excited to be back there again,” said Bain, 16, a returning player. “Last year’s team was a lot older with a lot of Grade 12s and this year we only have three Grade 12s (Rigelhof at power, Schneider and middle Elaine Cloutier) so we’re a lot younger and our skills are not that advanced but we do work really hard.”
In the provincial rankings, the pool B Skyhawks are listed second and the pool A Eagles are ninth.
Visit www.asaa.ca for the schedule and results.
The Skyhawks are confident they can go the distance after coming so close last year.
“If we play like we can we can definitely do it,” said Donnelly, 16, of the 2014 Lions Western Canadian Challenge bronze medallists.
Bain added: “When we get our passes up and attack it seems like no team can stop us.”
At zones, the Skyhawks finished 5-0, including pool A results of 25-18, 25-11 against the Eagles (4-2) and 25-13, 25-11 against the Lions (2-3). The Eagles were slotted third and the Lions were seventh in the eight-team tournament. The Eagles beat the No. 2-ranked Sturgeon Spirits (3-1) in the zone semifinals.
In the metro league, the Eagles (8-2, 27 GW/8 GL), Lions (7-4, 27 GW/19 GL) and Spirits (8-2, 27 GW/18 GL) competed in division two and the Skyhawks (7-5, 26 GW/20 GL) were one of the very few 3A teams in division one.
“We knew it was going to be tough because we were playing with all these big schools but we did very well overall,” Donnelly said of the fifth-place team and quarter-finalists in division one.
