Saville Centre – The St. Albert Skyhawks had nowhere to go but up after losing their opening match at the 3A provincial volleyball championships.
Thursday in pool A round-robin action the lady Skyhawks dropped a 24-26, 22-25 decision to the Eagle Butte Talons of Dunmore before rebounding with a decisive 25-9, 25-16 victory over the Bonnyville Roadrunners.
“The first game we weren't really prepared well enough I think but in the second game we came out and just battled through it. That's what we’re hoping to do all weekend and hopefully we’ll come out with a win in the end,” said co-captain Emily Groenenboom.
Friday the Skyhawks played the Lacombe Rams, Calgary Christian Cougars and Holy Trinity Academy Knights of Okotoks but the scores were unavailable at press time.
Another loss would jeopardize the team’s playoff aspirations. The top-three teams in the A and B pools in the 12-team tournament qualified for today’s playoff round.
“We have to win the rest of our games in our pool or we don't come in first or second,” said Nicole Brown, a Grade 12 power who moved into the middle for the injured Kayla Ivicak against Bonnyville.
Pool B includes the Ardrossan Bisons, who swept the Skyhawks 25-20, 25-15 in the Edmonton zone seeding match last Saturday at the SkyDome in a showdown of metro Edmonton division one teams, Beaverlodge Royals, HJ Cody Lakers of Sylvan Lake, St. Paul Saints and McCoy Colts of Medicine Hat.
Today’s playoff matches start at 10:15 a.m. for the quarter-finals, 1:30 p.m. for the semifinals and 4:30 p.m. for the bronze and gold finals. Visit www.asaa.ca for scores and updates.
“It would mean a lot to make the playoffs,” Groenenboom said. “It’s been a while since a SACHS volleyball team has even made it to provincials and it would be a real honour to represent the school in the playoffs.”
Stage fright cost the Skyhawks their first match at provincials. The Edmonton zone wildcard team allowed seven-point leads to slip away in both sets against the Talons.
“We let all the pressure get to us so we kind of let it go downhill,” said Brown, noting the team’s serves and passes were not up to Skyhawks standards.
A sense of urgency surrounded the Skyhawks against Bonnyville.
“We came out more stronger and confident. Our serving and passing was really good and we executed our hits really well,” said Brown, 17. “Now that we got a lot of our first game jitters out of the way I have a good feel about how we’re going to do now.”
Various players took turns scoring points against an over-matched Bonnyville line-up.
In the first set Brown and Julia Donnelly served up lengthy point runs and Jessica Baird got into the swing of things with quality hits for points.
Strong net presences by Groenenboom, a prolific Grade 12 power, and Nicole Clayton generated points in the second set. Taylor Thompson was at the service line for a six-point run to make it 24-15. Morgan Rigelhof also added some punch to the attack, including the match-clinching point.
“We ended on a good note today. Tomorrow we’re going to keep battling through every game and I think it’s going to be a good weekend,” said Groenenboom, one of six returning Skyhawks on the 10-player roster.
The Skyhawks are either the first or second women’s volleyball team in school history to compete at the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association championship.
This year also marks the first time all eight ASAA championships – male and female 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A divisions – have been held in the same location, as 92 teams strive for gold in their respective events at the jam-packed Saville Community Sports Centre.
“It’s just a big honour to be part of such a big tournament. It’s the 50th anniversary of provincials and it’s just a really big exciting experience,” said Groenenboom, 17. “The energy is great with all the teams. The opening ceremonies were really exciting. It’s super fun.”
