Spartans volleyball season tips off

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

The Strathmore High School Spartans volleyball programs tipped off the season by hosting their annual junior varsity tournament in town Sept. 22 and 23.
The senior boys program rolled out a lineup featuring mostly younger players as a way to get them more experience before the race for provincials heats up.
The male squad turned in the better results of the two programs that participated in the tournament, reaching the semifinal, but fell short against the Crescent Heights High School Vikings 2-1 (25-23, 15-25, 5-15).
“The focus this month isn’t about results, but about getting playing time and experience in before we enter the competitive phase of our schedule,” said Spartans head coach Cole Hintz. “We saw some good things this weekend and now we need to keep building on that.”
In the quarters, the Spartans cruised past the Holy Trinity Academy Knights 2-0 on the strength of Alex Treacy’s service game, when he carved up the Knights for nine straight points in the second set.
“Alex was great in the service game for us and Kaden Zarowny did a great job attacking; his service was strong and he took control on defence,” said Hintz.
This was actually the second weekend of action for the Spartans. They split their 14-man roster in half for a tournament at the University of Calgary as a way to get more playing time in for their team early in the season.
The Spartys closed out the round robin by splitting their schedule. They swept the Springbank Community High School Phoenix 2-0 (25-13, 25-21), but dropped the tight morning matchup 2-0 (19-25, 21-25) to the Camrose Composite High School Trojans.
Hintz’s crew opened the tourney with a convincing 2-0 win over the St. Joseph’s Collegiate Crusaders Sept. 22.
Up next for the senior men’s team is the Red Mile tournament Sept. 29 and 30 at Western Canada High School.
It was a less than memorable home opener for the junior girls’ team.
They finished 0-4 in the round robin, only winning two sets.
The Spartans were swept by the Bow Valley Timberwolves (25-27, 18-25) and Trojans (14-25, 11-25). They battled and managed to pick up a set against the Acme School Redmen 1-2 (16-25, 25-23, 10-15) and Brooks Composite High School Buffalos 1-2 (25-13, 17-25, 6-15).
“The results weren’t the best, but I was happy with the way they played,” said Spartans head coach Carrie Westgard. “Every game was an improvement and the girls are so coachable. I can see the potential in them and we want to be building on that as we approach zones later this fall.”
In their final game of the weekend, the Spartans swept the Chestermere High School Lakers 2-0 (25-19, 25-20).
The Spartans are off for a while and will resume tournament play Oct. 13 and 14 in Canmore.
Westgard’s crew will host zones Nov. 17 and 18.
The senior girls team, led by Randy Moncks, has experienced a fantastic start to their season.
After finishing in second place Sept. 16 at the W.R. Myers High School tournament in Taber, the Spartans left no doubt in High River, winning every set to capture the Mustang Classic trophy.
After falling down 8-0 early in the final, the Spartans stormed back to sweep the Highwood High School Mustangs 2-0 (25-22, 25-22).
“It has been a surprisingly good start to the season,” said Moncks. “We are younger this year with only five Grade 12s, but we are lucky that local club teams have developed their ball-handling skills and knowledge of the game, which makes my job easier.”
The Spartans also swept the Oilfields High School Drillers 2-0 in the semis, along with skunking the competition during the round robin games.
This weekend, they will be competing in the Red Mile tournament Sept. 29 and 30 at Western Canada High School.
In other Spartan news, the football team was blanked by the Holy Trinity Academy Knights 28-0 Sept. 22 in Okotoks.
Playing outside of the Rangeland Football Conference (RFC) for the second-straight week, the Spartans dropped their second-straight exhibition match.
“We were missing a couple of our starters, so we took the opportunity to work in some new plays and get some guys playing some new positions, helping them learn more about the game,” said Spartans Head Coach Darrel Hargrove.
The Spartans will take part in a league-wide junior varsity football jamboree Sept. 29 in Brooks. Each of the five teams from the RFC will send their Grade 10 and 11 players for four coaching-assisted exhibition games. There will be no running clock; teams will get 10 plays on offence followed by 10 plays on defence. Coaches are allowed on the field to provide instant feedback to the players.
“It is a great experience for guys to live it live and help get them ready for the rest of the season,” said Hargrove.
The Spartans will finally play another home game Oct. 5, when they host the Brooks Composite High School Buffaloes. The game has been moved up one day to accommodate families for the Thanksgiving weekend. They haven’t played at home since Sept. 1.