Seniors and juniors 3-2

Times Reporter 

 

After winning the first two sets and losing the next three against Oilfields on Sept. 18, the Spartans senior boys volleyball team did not want to make this a regular pattern for the season. During their next game on Sept. 25, against Strathcona Tweedsmuir, they won the first set, and lost the next two. Strathmore came back in the last two sets for a 3-2 victory.

“I think they were doing all the little things right,” said Coach Brandie Dundas. “During their really good moments, they were passing on target, going in, maximizing with their serve; there were definitely lulls when they weren’t doing those little things, but they were able to focus and get things organized.”

Dundas believed the boys simply had a mental lapse in their first game of the season.

“That game, we didn’t adapt or adjust as much as we needed to based on what they were doing to us. We just weren’t making the changes we needed to make,” she said.

Dundas has been switching positions within her team, and has been impressed how they’ve filled their new roles. Last year Brady Morris was the team’s go-to setter, whereas this season he’s been experimenting with hitting.

“Everyone embraces the team aspect, and tries to make sure they’re communicating enough,” Dundas said. “Clearly we had breakdowns, but for the start of the season, I’m pretty happy with the effort.”

Cole Hintz, coach of the junior boys, noted that his squad has made a successful adjustment from junior high to senior high volleyball. The juniors defeated Strathcona Tweedsmuir as well on Sept. 25, with the exact set pattern as varsity.

“They’re handling it well, and you could tell in the match and in our end result. They got a lot more comfortable as the match went on,” Hintz said. “We’ve been working on a lot of fundamentals; basic passing, basic technique, basic setting – just to give us a good foundation to build off of.”

In Strathmore High’s volleyball program, boys in any grade can move up to varsity if the skillset is there.

“There is such a difference between a Grade 10 boy and a Grade 12 boy, it’s very rare that you can make that transition,” Dundas said. “But there are a lot of boys in this school that could play senior. It’s all about working, getting into the system, and pushing hard enough to get there.”

“There’s a lot of athletes. Athleticism can’t really be taught. They have the raw materials,” Hintz said.