The Senior Volleyball teams were in Whitecourt over the weekend competing in the A&W Tournament hosted by Hilltop High School and St. Joes. 

The Senior Girls started off pretty shaky against a strong Glenmary team. After losing a tough game, they came back strong with two wins to finish pool play in second place. This put them in the top 8. After coming out strong and then losing momentum against the home team Hilltop Chargers, the girls rallied and were able to pull off an exciting win over GP Vanier, which put them in the consolation final against Peace River. This match was a back and forth battle between Peace River and the Grizzlies. After pushing Peace River to a 3rd set, the girls ultimately fell short and finished in 6th place.

The Senior Boys started the tournament strong with two wins and a loss on Friday night against GP Vanier, Harry Collinge and Onoway. The night ended with a three way tie for first. It came down to points for and against and the Grizzlies finished pool play in 3rd place, dropping them down to tier 2.

In the first playoff game on Saturday against Swan Hills, the boys came out focused and showcased what they have been working on in practice. Grade 12 Nathan Narcisco gave the boys a good start, serving 16 unanswered points. The Grizzlies played disciplined and solid defence. They took the first game 25-2 and 25-12. After taking their second playoff game to a 3rd set and ultimately winning, the Grizzlies went up against Mayerthorpe in the Consolation Final. The boys got crushed in the first set of the match. They lacked enthusiasm and engagement, dropping the first set 25-12. They promptly forgot about the first set and went back out, worked for every point and played the ball until the whistle blew. The Grizzlies took the second set 25-13. In the third set they were the first team to 8 for the switch; however, both teams pushed hard to win the championship. It came down to the boys battling point for point all the way to 15-15. From there the Grizzlies dropped the next two points for Mayerthorpe to take the championship.

Overall, the boys played some amazing volleyball. They have improved immensely from day 1, and are only going up from here!

The Juniors Girls were at home this weekend at the Dr Kearney tournament. The girls played well and had many opportunities to put new skills into action. The Grizzlies won all of their games in 2 sets, finishing the tournament in first place. 

We also had an inter-club cross country meet. Our seniors ran well finishing a gruelling 6 km. Jordynn Mcpherson’s time was 36:03, Carter Collins finished with 35:11 time and Colby Snider finished with a time of 35:10.

Up Next: All three volleyball teams will be in Dawson Creek for their next tournament October 18th and 19th. The Cross Country team will also be in Dawson on the 19th for their Zone Championships. 

Athlete of the Week: Megan Salinas (Gr. 12, Sr Girls Volleyball) – Megan was solid all weekend in her passing and was an excellent leader on the court in tight game situations. She made key defensive contributions all tournament, but especially against strong outside attackers from Peace River in the 5th place match. Congrats Megan!