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The Holy Rosary Raiders girls volleyball team recently returned from Lethbridge sporting some new hardware around their necks and big smiles on their faces.
The girls travelled to Catholic Central High School from Nov. 24-26 to compete in the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association 3A volleyball provincials, and despite the tough competition they faced, the ladies went home with bronze medals draped from their necks.
“The weekend was so much fun,” said team captain Norah Matthews after a school-wide celebration of sports successes on Monday morning.
“We went last year and we lost out Saturday morning, but this year we went all the way. Everyone was so nervous, but I thought the experience was a lot of fun, and we met a lot of great people, too.”
Matthews explained she thought the season went really well as the entire team was able to gel right from the beginning.
“We played lots of tournaments this year and did well in all of them,” she said.
Brad Johnston, one of the team’s coaches, couldn’t be prouder of his squad’s accomplishments and growth on the court throughout the year.
“This was an exceptional year for us. We started with nine rookies, so we were a young team, but we’re lucky because we have a really strong group of Grade 10s, like, exceptionally strong. The strongest we’ve ever had in the school. There’s also a core group of Grade 11s,” he said.
“I think at the beginning of the year if someone said we were going to be the bronze medalist, it would have been unexpected.”
Johnston also noted the girls won 50 matches this year and carry an 800 win percentage, “which is really good at the level we’re playing at.”
“It’s been an exceptional season, and I think we were expecting to do well this weekend, but we lost in a close semi-final game. We had a real shot of being in the final,” said Johnston.
“I would say that was one of the stronger AAA girls’ provincials I’ve seen in a number of years, and it was much stronger than it was last year.”
