The Broncs girls volleyball teams faced a tough night of losses against a strong opponent last week.
The JV and senior girls teams played host to Sylvan Lake’s HJ Cody Lakers Sept. 27 each losing in three sets.
For the senior girls it took the first set loss of 25-10 to gain some momentum. Coach Ron Labrie said the Lakers are a tough team. “HJ Cody is very solid this year. They have numerous club players and are well-coached,” he said in an email.
“The first set was simply nerves,” he added. “As the match went on we were better, but we often start cold and give the team five or six points via mental errors.”
The senior athletes played stronger in the second and third sets and while they lost 25-20 and 25-18, respectively, Labrie said there was a better exchange of points. Important points were lost due to the mental errors, which ended up hurting the team in the long run.
Where he sees improvement is in his players managing transitions and fighting through broken plays. “Our inexperience sometimes makes us robotic, but we are improving our read and react skills every set.”
JV girls
The JV team fared similar with a three set loss but showed improvements each time they played.
The first set was the biggest points gap with the JV Lakers taking it 25-9. In the second the Broncs lost again but gained some ground in points with a 25-13 loss.
Coach Tammy Emes echoed Labrie’s thoughts on the team. “Sylvan Lake is probably the strongest team in the league, they have won all their league games and two tournaments this year already.”
To help the young athletes focus, she stays positive and encourages them to work hard each set.
“And remember one of the key points in passing is getting your body behind the ball and have your platform to target,” said Emes, giving an example of her focus during the match.
That direction worked. The team showed vast improvement in its third set bringing the Lakers into a 24 point tie. The Lakers managed to secure the win 26-24.
Emes says she uses her timeouts to get the team to focus on their next play and what is needed to improve.