Hawks volleyball season ends at zones

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

All year, the Holy Cross Collegiate Hawks senior boys volleyball team looked to be the little engine that could, but they sadly ran out of gas last weekend during the 2A South Central Zone tournament.
The upstart Hawks admittedly overachieved – nobody entered the season experienced at the senior level and the coaching staff were rookies to the job – and took a moment after being eliminated in the quarters to recognize how far they came.
“We briefly met after we lost, and I took out a piece of paper that I had the kids write on during our first practice back at the beginning of the year. I had them write down what their goals were, and we took a moment to look back on our season,” said Hawks Head Coach Myles Pirie.
The Hawks set a very low bar for themselves back in September: win one game, win a tournament and compete at zones.
Destroying those modest expectations in four tournaments, the Hawks won one, placed second and third, and picked up a consolation trophy. Most importantly, they qualified for zones.
Zones started off with a bang for the local team, as they swept the host Three Hills School Royals 2-0 (25-14, 25-18), but fell in their second game 2-0 (22-25, 19-25) to the Prairie Christian Academy Sabres.
In their final round robin game Nov. 18, the Hawks were denied by the Strathcona Tweedsmuir Academy Spartans 2-0 (13-25, 12-25).
“I think that Strathcona game got in our heads a little bit. We have never played a team with that strong of strikers. We weren’t the same moving forward,” said Pirie.
In the B side quarterfinal, the Hawks were bested by the Brooks Composite High School Buffalos 2-0 (22-25, 18-25), ending their season.
“We had a pretty good season. I think we did better than any of us were expecting to,” said Pirie, who was joined by Jason Tanton midway through the season, as the two rookie coaches did their best to put the boys in a position to succeed this year.
The Hawks barely had enough players to occupy bench spots and needed a player from the Spartans to do the lines in their final round robin game.
Fielding a roster might be difficult next fall, seeing as half the squad will be graduating this coming spring. Alex Torrez, Connor Pirie, Hunter Biskup, Kyle Chavente and Ryan Leeper will all leave Holy Cross this spring to pursue their own goals in life.
Like the boys, the junior girls season came to an end last weekend as well.
Without their starting setter — a position typically referred to as the floor general – the Hawks offence struggled to get going and did not qualify for playoffs.
The team finished 1-3 at the 2A South Central Zone tournament in Brooks over two days of round robin play, leaving on the outside looking in on the playoff picture.
“The girls were pretty defeated by the end of the tournament,” said Hawks Head Coach Taleah Ross. “Especially mentally, but it’s important to remember where they started from skill-wise to where they finished. I think they probably surprised themselves a little with how much they learned and how much they grew.”
The Hawks captured their host tourney earlier in the season and finished up the Foothills Athletic Council undefeated, before losing to Foothills Composite High School Falcons in a five-set thriller in the title game.
“They all worked so hard for me and I’m looking forward to hearing how they do next season,” said Ross.