The Potential Volleyball Club's 17U girls squad took to the court in Calgary for the Alberta Volleyball 17U Championships last weekend with heavy hearts.
Paula Harker, the team's assistant coach, died last month after suffering a stroke but they battled through and finished on a strong note.
Just the way Harker would have wanted.
The girls ended up 13th in Division 2 thanks to winning their final playoff game against the WVC Renegades from Westlock, Alta., in straight sets.
“It was a solid finish,” said head coach Glorianna Shearme.
The girls started off in the round-robin on April 28 with four games, one more than the standard three games due to the fact that they were in the only pool with five teams. They finished the round-robin with a record of three wins and one loss, the defeat came in their second game of the day.
“We started off strong by winning the first set but lost the next two,” said Shearme. “I had changed the line-up around to try something new that game and it just didn't go as I expected it to.”
Still, the ladies finished second in their pool and advanced to the playoffs, which ended in defeat although they put up a good fight, said Shearme.
“We lost it in three sets,” she said. “The girls put up a good fight but they were just tired from playing so much volleyball in one day.”
With a good night's rest, they hit the floor to continue their playoff run against the Impact 17s from Leduc, which they lost in straight sets but not because of a lack of trying, said Shearme.
“We played really well but we just got out-hit,” she said. “There were great rallies all match long and there's no shame losing a game like that.”
From there, the best the girls could do was finish 13th, which they accomplished by defeating the Wildcards from Rocky Mountain House in straight sets, 25-12 and 25-14, and then beating the Renegades, 25-17 and 25-16.
“The night's rest really helped them out and it showed,” said Shearme. “They played some really solid volleyball on Sunday.”
Preparing for the provincial championships consisted of two on-court practices in the days leading up to departing for Calgary and while Harker was on the minds of the entire team, Shearme said she would have wanted the girls to push on.
“The girls knew Paula would have wanted them to just go out and play,” she said. “It was a chance to focus on something else and they got the job done. They've been together for a long time and they just went out and did what they needed to do.”
There's one more task left this season for the girls and that's the Volleyball Canada Nationals in Edmonton, which get going on May 19. This is the year where the championships aren't separated by east or west regions and Shearme is looking forward to it.
“Our premier tournaments in Alberta were combined 17U and 18U so it's going to be good to be able to play girls at our own level,” she said.