Spartans snip Hawks

Times Reporter   

 

On Oct. 23, Strathmore’s two high school rivals battled on the varsity boys’ volleyball court. Strathmore High School (SHS) Spartans knocked off the Holy Cross Collegiate (HCC) Hawks on their home turf; SHS took the match in three straight sets, 26-24, 25-8, 25-18.

“A win is always nice,” said Spartans coach Brandi Dundas. “I didn’t feel like we had our strongest mental game, or physical game for that matter, but I think we served aggressively and we pulled it out when we needed to.”

Both teams tampered with their usual lineups, to see what would work best. John Reinhart, Hawks head coach, mentioned his rotation in the second set didn’t pan out as planned.

“Sometimes it depends on the rotation – the players that I have on. I mean there are some players that aren’t quite as skilled as others, so if you play them in the second game, that does dictate a little bit to what the score is going to turn out to be,” he said.

“We’re trying to definitely get some touches for the young kids because next year, we’ll lose all those Grade 12’s,” Dundas said. “They don’t want to be completely raw at that level of ball.”

Both SHS and HCC were at an exhibition tournament, on Oct. 18-19 at Crescent Heights High School; the Spartans lost in the final to Rundle College Senior High School.

“This weekend was probably the best I’ve ever seen them play. They played up with some really large teams that were aggressive,” Dundas said. “I’m thoroughly impressed with how much they’ve progressed and if they keep going this way, I really have high hopes for us finishing really high in the standings.”

Dundas mentioned the boys played their hearts out in the quarters, and pulled off a come from behind win.

“The semis took everything we had out of us. It was a huge battle,” she said. “We had no gas in the tank left.”

“They were second in the last tournament that we went to,” Reinhart said, speaking of the same Oct. 18-19 exhibition. “So, they’re a pretty solid team. To give them a run for their money, I was pretty happy, because it actually showed we can play.”

Reinhart mentioned when his squad plays teams that are more skilled, they really shine – but when facing teams of their own caliber, they occasionally falter.

“That’s been our pattern this year,” he said. “The mental part of the game is not quite there for them yet, but they get psyched against the better teams somehow. We just got to get psyched against everybody and just go in hard.”

The Spartans will be hosting zones this year, and hope to use their home court to their advantage.

“We have a really nice gym and I think sometimes we take it for granted,” Dundas said. “It’s definitely nice to get used to the height of the roof and the lights, and the float you can put on the ball. I do think we have a slight advantage but I mean everyone can appreciate a bigger gym than what they’re used to.”

Though HCC didn’t get their first win of the year, SHS is 2-3 on the season, with an even 11 sets for and against; they have their last season game at home against Central County High School on Oct. 28, before this article’s time of print.