The 2019 club volleyball season is off to a wonderful start for the Ponoka-based Central Rage Under-16 girls squad.
Lead by head coach Tammy Emes, the team with players from Ponoka and the surrounding rural regions captured a bronze medal at the opening Premier 1 North tournament of the season Feb. 23 and 24 in Edmonton.
With 33 teams entered, the Rage went undefeated in its four-team round robin pool — getting past the East Central Chill in three sets (25-10,23-25,15-9) while sweeping Edmonton’s FOG Ice 25-14, 25-19 and the Southwest Central Wildfire 28-26, 25-17 to take top spot in the pool. The Rage finished the first day off with another sweep, this time against the northeastern Alberta based Rhinos White in the crossover playoff match.
The run for the medals began the next day, with the Rage beating the St. Albert Sturgeon volleyball club in the quarter final before falling in a very tight three sets to the eventual gold medal winners, the Central Alberta Queens based in Red Deer.
That left the Rage to play for third and the team swept the Edmonton based Northern Alberta Griffins.
The results mean the Rage will be among the top six U16 Premier 1 teams in the province prior to the next event, which for the Rage will be the Premier 1 North tournament in Edmonton on March 16 and 17.