Spartans come home champs
Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter
The Strathmore High School (SHS) Spartans JV girls volleyball team have raised the bar for future seasons and future players. On Nov. 8 the lady Spartans brought home their first ever league championship.
The girls had gone into the playoff ranked third in the league and quickly fought to prove they deserved to be number one.
“The girls are big game players – they always seem to rise to the occasion,” said coach Jerry Flaws.
The first game of the night was against High River. The girls took a quick victory in the first round with 25-20, but struggled to come out of the second round at 26-24.
In the semi-finals the Spartans were matched up against Foothills Composite Falcons, who were ranked second in the league. Though the girls had won their last two match-ups against them, they knew it would be a tough match. The Falcons took the game, but the Spartans were able to take an early lead in the second which saw the two teams go to a third game. The third game had several lead changes, with the Spartans winning with a score of 15-12.
The victory against the Falcons had the Spartans facing the number one ranked team from Holy Trinity Knights in the finals. The Knights had beaten the Spartans in all five matchups this year.
“The Spartans began the game with some huge swings from Jade Balance knocking the Knights off kilter. The Knights came back and in the middle of the game but were unable to take the lead. The Spartans won the first game 25-20,” said Flaws.
“Every team member made plays on the ball that normally would have hit the ground.”
Flaws said the second game was the best game of the night. The girls held a two-point lead, but it was the best they could keep against the Knights. The Spartans lost the lead and with a score of 21-19 for the Knights, the final time out was called.
Flaws said the team put the game into the hands of Balance to get the last five points needed to win. He said every set for the remainder of the game went to Balance and she was able to finish them off capturing the League Championship.