OLDS — The École Olds High School senior boys volleyball team will be a lot different next season.
Six Grade 12s and head coach Kristy Hartt are departing the team.
Hartt, who is in the education profession, is taking time off from the sport to focus on her studies as a full-time student.
She’s very proud of the departing Grade 12s.
“They are an exceptional group of players, both on and off the court,” Hartt wrote in an email to the Albertan.
“I am very proud to have worked with them over the last three years and to be a part of their volleyball journey.”
The team will be different but will still have great potential, as a surge of Grade 9s are expected to hit the court for the Spartans.
“It will be a younger team, but with a good foundation; they will have success, I am sure,” Hartt wrote.
The Spartans did well this season, winning the league championship at home, but hit a wall during the zones, held Nov. 17-18 in Cochrane.
The Spartans faced Olds Koinonia Christian School in the league playoffs, held Nov. 15 at the CLC gym in Olds.
“We won in two sets (25-20, 25-15) and it was the best volleyball we have played all year,” Hartt wrote. “We were connecting on all fronts and came out ready, played as a team and had success because of it.
“It was such a proud moment as a coach to watch your team come together and play well together after a season of hard work.
“It was a great way to come away as league champions and celebrate with our six grade 12s who had this as their last league match.”
However, the Spartans’ performance during the zones just a couple of days afterward was rather uneven.
“We had a strong first match, winning against Bow Valley and then struggled to find our rhythm in the second match against Brooks and lost in the third set,” she wrote.
The Spartans finished the round robin portion of that tournament in third place and met host Cochrane in the quarter-finals.
“We (had) played three back-to-back games, so we came into the match a little tired, mentally and physically," she wrote.
“We had some great moments, but in the end, it wasn't enough to come away with a win, so our season ended after the second set.”
The end of this season is a good time for a change, Hartt indicated.
“The time I have spent with these athletes has been great, but the graduation of my core six aligns well with needing a break, as I am a full-time student, so I can use my ‘extra’ time to focus back on my studies,” she wrote.
