Chaos host successful home tourney

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

Three Strathmore Chaos club volleyball teams played against skilled teams all weekend during their inaugural home tournaments on April 2-3.
The Chaos Purple U15 won the silver medal after being defeated in straight sets by Calgary’s Ace of Clubs, a club they had faced earlier in the season.
Despite the loss, coach Greg Appleyard said the girls displayed a great work ethic on the court all match long.
“They’re a good team,” said Appleyard. “They’ve got two solid lines. But I’m very proud of our girls and all you can ever ask is leave everything on the floor and they did.
“At this level if they communicate and try to force themselves to have energy on the court we do well. It’s when we get quiet and get flat-footed then we struggle. The girls did well, five matches in a day is a lot of matches for these girls.”
He added that he was proud to host their first-ever home tournament as it went over smoothly and the hope is to host more tournaments in the future.
As for the Chaos White U15, they fell short in the bronze medal match against Airdrie’s ACVC Reign White. However, coach Chelsea Nielsen felt the girls grew as a team and on the court.
She added that there was a focus on tightening up on mistakes on the court but at the same time they didn’t want to dwell on those mistakes, and would rather celebrate the things they did well.
“We are getting a lot better,” said Nielsen. “We have a ways to go yet. But just seeing the team from where we started as to where we are now, it’s a completely different team. It’s great to see the growth.”
She mentioned that volleyball is an emotional game and the girls had to show their determination even with their skills to earn a win.
The Chaos U14 team finished on the consolation side, but assistant coach Lindsay Hall called it their best tournament of the year. For the most part, the eight teams were said to be evenly matched.
“We went to a third set with one team and it’s been really good to have those and see the girls push our team and the other team,” said Hall. “We came together and we all clicked, so that was really cool because our serving was really great this game, but we would hit the ball into the net. The girls I think had a lot of fun.”
She added that the challenge has been coaching the girls at the U14 level as they are still young and new to the sport, which has made the consistency tough.