Competing against the best

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

Thousands of athletes, coaches, and fans filled the BMO Centre in Calgary for the National Volleyball Championship in May.

The event featured teams from across Canada and highlighted the growing strength of volleyball programs from smaller Alberta communities, like the Strathmore Chaos

Among the teams representing Strathmore was the U15 Chaos Black girls squad, coached by Matt Byma. While the team was not competing for a national title, Byma said the season-long goal was never solely about medals.

“Our goal all year long was just to continue to get better,” said Byma. “Each tournament that we went in, in the AVAs and provincials and nationals, we succeeded in our goal of getting better.”

The team played seven matches at nationals and continued a season-long trend of improvement. Byma said the club climbed the rankings at every major tournament throughout the year and ultimately finished in the top half of Tier 3 competition.

“We finished in the top half of Tier 3, which is one of the highest finishes any Chaos team has ever had,” he said.

Competing against larger clubs from major centres presented unique challenges. Byma noted that many top-tier programs draw from hundreds of athletes during tryouts, while smaller communities like Strathmore have a much smaller player pool to work with.

“Sometimes our goals aren’t measured with, ‘Did we get a gold medal?’” said Byma. “It’s more like, ‘Did we get better? Did we improve a little? Was there personal growth in the athletes?’”

One of the highlights of the tournament came during a second-day matchup against a higher-ranked opponent. Byma described it as nearly a perfect performance by his players.

“In that one game, it was just sort of that perfect example of what they could achieve if they continued down the road,” he said. “They came out of it, and everyone was just super ecstatic. It was neat to see not only our team, but lots of the other Chaos teams be able to be there. It’s a really good experience for Strathmore in general for volleyball.”

The success of Strathmore teams extended beyond the Chaos program. The Strathmore Volleyball Club U18 boys’ team also delivered an impressive performance at nationals, finishing with an 8-1 record and earning silver in the Tier 5 final.

“They had a great time,” said head coach Mark Screpnek. “We won all three games on the first day, all three games on the second day, and then won our first two games on the final day to reach the Tier 5 final.”

In his first season as head coach, Screpnek credited his assistant coaches, Jonathan Rilling and Nathan Wilchowy, as well as club founder Cole Hintz, for helping guide the team throughout the season.

“I had really great assistant coaches,” he said. “They grew up in the SVC and were giving back to the club that helped grow them as volleyball players.”

One of the most memorable moments came during a semifinal matchup against a defensive-minded team from Ontario. After losing a close first set and falling behind by five points in the second, the Strathmore squad mounted a comeback to force a third set and eventually secured the victory.

“We were down 17-12 in the second set, and in 18U boys’ volleyball, that’s pretty much game over,” said Screpnek. “But we battled back, won the set 32-30, and then handled them nicely in the third. To overcome that kind of adversity was really special.”

Screpnek said the team’s chemistry played a major role in its success, with many of the athletes having played together for five years.

“They’ve been a really close-knit group of young men,” he said. “They won provincials together in 2024, finished second at provincials this year, and a lot of them are now moving on to play college volleyball.”

Coaches and families praised the athletes not only for their results, but for the dedication and sportsmanship they displayed throughout the event. Many players had spent months training and travelling for provincial tournaments leading up to nationals, making the opportunity to compete on a national stage especially meaningful.

Acadia Tucker (15) who plays for Strathmore Chaos U15 purple club team, who also participated in the tournament, said one particular game stood out for her, 

“My entire team (did well), we had really good ups one game. No ball really touched the ground,” said Tucker. 

She praises the brilliant coaching team this year, “Houston Burrel and Levi Kirk … best coaches I’ve ever had.”