Volleyball is an amazing sport ó it requires six strategically positioned players who are required to play their individual role, but the beauty of it is when those six players perform so well that they all can trust one another and work well together.
Now of course that's an ideal. The rest of the game is working harder when one or more of those positions break down, and the team must work hard to recover. Let's be honest, in high school volleyball, we have experienced that recovery and adjustment happens more often than the perfect play, but those are the bumps that happen while we learn to play the game at a more competitive level and it's still, most often, a whole lot of fun, a good workout, as well as a great chance to bond as a team.
This year's Sundre High School senior varsity volleyball team had a good number of Grade 12 students, and we wanted to give them one last shot to do really well. Unfortunately with only two other teams in our division and having to miss the first tournament of the year, the team did not get enough quality opportunities to play competitive ball until halfway through the season, which really set the team back.
The highlight of the entire season came when we participated at a tournament in Three Hills against three other teams that were very evenly matched. Many games went to the maximum of three sets and any team could have won any match. Our team ended the round robin in third place. But we excelled in the final matches and came out victorious, winning the tournament in some very exciting rallies. The joy of victory was sweet.
Unfortunately, we could not sustain the level of play and keep a consistent roster near the end of the season and the year came to a discouraging end, losing the last 12 of the season. Our attendance at zones was short-lived and the season was complete.
We're always thankful for the opportunity to play this sport. It's a lot of fun, requires a lot of skill development, and we made some great friendships along the way. Can't wait until next year!
