The sr. girls volleyball team at Notre Dame High School (NDHS) spiked their way through the competition to earn their place at provincials.
After winning the North East Zone A championship for the first time since 1999 the NDHS team was celebrating. Coach Tyler Collins said the girls fought some hard battles at provincials in Camrose on Saturday, Nov. 24.
“The competition at provincials was another level that we don’t see at our local tournaments around here. We knew they were going to be tough,” he recalled.
Team captain and Grade 12 student Ceara Cabana said, “The competition was much higher than we’d ever seen before, but, being able to compete, play, and work hard was our goal. We exceeded at that.”
After losing in the zone finals last year, Collins saw this year’s win as a triumph.
“We were happy with how that played out, and were ecstatic to make provincials. The group we had last year, we lost in the zone final in a heart breaking game. It was a tough bounce back year, but we made provincials and that was probably our main goal for the season,” he exclaimed.
With a fairly new roster, team building was a crucial aspect for their success.
Cabana said although the age of their players varied, in the end, they pulled together as a team.
“After the first tournament, we all clicked. Everyone seemed to be getting along, everyone seemed to be... more comfortable... By zones, we were all together all the time.”
Cabana believes it was their determination and hard work that landed them in first place in zones, and winning the banner was an accomplishment in her final year of high school.
“Last time we won it at our school was in 1999, so it was our coach’s first zone banner. Being able to win it, not just for ourselves, but for our coach as well... and being able to win this in my Grade 12 year, I never felt anything like that,” she added.
Although they didn’t come out on top at provincials, they did find themselves among the top 10.
“Now that they’ve seen (provincials), you’re going to see a NDHS team that... has higher standards on themselves. Now, they know that they’ve seen the top team in the province... I think they’re going to go into next year with a renewed focus on the little things that amount to the big things,” detailed Collins.
Along with graduating players this year, Collins is retiring after 14 years as coach of the volleyball team.
“It’s going to be a whole new experience for those girls next year with the leadership gone. But, I know the girls coming up... I think there’s a lot of character there. I (don’t) think they’re... going to settle for just being mediocre after playing at such a high level of vollyeball the last couple of years. It’s going to be up to the leaders to step up, but I think they can do it.”
