Spartans earn provincial berth

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Strathmore Spartans senior boys volleyball team went into zones ranked fourth, but came out of the tournament as gold medalists.
The Spartans knocked off the number one-ranked Cochrane squad in an epic three set match to book themselves into provincials Nov. 26-28.
“Cochrane is a very talented team,” said Spartans head coach Cole Hintz. “They had a very big, strong, physical left side. It was a good opportunity for us to see that level we had to shoot for and try to surpass at the end of tournament if we wanted to come out on top.”
Despite losing the first set 25-21, Hintz said the guys were able to stay focused and understand if they continued to work hard, eventually some balls would go their way.
“I wasn’t really nervous after that first set,” said Hintz. “I was excited for the guys and just the opportunity that they had to go out and continue and get better.”
He added the most dynamic aspect of the team’s overall game was their ability to have their setters establish the middle where they could generate their offence.
Senior girls head coach Randy Moncks thought his players played hard as zone hosts and kept their matches close, but unfortunately the yearlong inconsistency crept into their games, which led to being left out of the playoff rounds.
“Consistency has plagued us all year long,” said Moncks. “We can do one or two and then we’ll give away two, three, four points. You got to be on your game to continue to put pressure on those good teams all the time and not let up like we do.
“Overall, we played some of our better volleyball and looked good. We were moving well and transitioning. People were all of sudden doing things we’d worked on in practice and not panicking … and not all time, we had to do that all the time but we just had too many unforced errors.”
Moncks did emphasize that the girls were having fun and that they’re close to getting over the hump to win matches, but most of them need more playing experience, which they can get by going to camps and getting more time with the ball.