Olds High School's Junior A girls volleyball team has cruised to a 15-1 record as they enter the home stretch of their season.
Coach Kelvin Beaudry says that's a cumulative record between league games and three tournaments they've played in this year, where the Spartans had two first-place finishes and a second-place finish.
The focus this year was for the Grade 9 team to gain a better understanding of the sport and how to play together, he says, along with developing skills for the next level of volleyball.
"The girls are progressing to the point where they're running the show, calling plays," he says.
Lauren Mertens and Lauren Cleland are the team's co-captains.
Cleland says they've improved greatly as a team, especially with communication. At the start of the year, players weren't talking on the court, ending up running into each other when chasing down balls, she says. Mertens adds their hitting is stronger as well.
Looking ahead, the team finishes league play this week and the next, with the playoffs starting Nov. 3.
After that, it's the South Central Zone 4J championship, held in Brooks from Nov. 11-12.
"The girls are progressing to the point where they're running the show, calling plays."KELVIN BEAUDRYCOACH
