Students at St. Augustine filled the gym Oct. 12 to support the senior girls volleyball team during the school’s annual Turkey Burner. The Queens’ opener against the Wetaskiwin Sabres had students from grades four to 12 cheering on their players as they won the first match of the weekend.
Coach Darren Josephison said the players felt some pressure competing against such a large crowd and despite the win, he feels they played their best the next day.
Leading to the finals the Queens were tied for first place with eight wins and two losses against Bawlf and Chauvin — both of whom they won and lost a game to. “It was close games and tough teams.”
The semi-final and bronze medal games were both close in point spreads; the Queens lost to Smoky Lake 1-2, with scores of 22-25, 25-19 and 17-19. The bronze medal game against Daysland ended with points of 23-25, 25-19, and 17-19. Josephison feels the team learned some valuable lessons during the tournament. “They learned a bit about intensity. Maintaining intensity against tough teams…It’s (about) dealing with pressure.”
The other challenge was completing points towards the end of the match. Unforced errors on serves were something the team had to contend with.
“We gotta fine tune parts of our game,” he said.
The area Josephison plans to work on the most is defense. The team has approximately one month to adjust strategies before league championships on Nov. 10.
Josephison invited teams the Queens compete with throughout the season and he feels they will face Bawlf and Chauvin again during the championships.
Twelve teams in two pools of six competed at the Turkey Burner. Zones are planned for Nov. 10.