Submitted
The Ponoka Warriors U14 club volleyball team finished an amazing season at the recent Provincial Alberta Volleyball Association (AVA) tournament in Spruce Grove.
The team, composed of players aged 14 and under from three Ponoka-area schools, opened their season strong at the Fog Hawks home tournament in Edmonton in February. However, they were unable to place in the medal round. With many things identified to develop and build on, the coaches and girls alike worked hard at the weekly practices. Their efforts were rewarded when they brought home the gold medal at the next tournament in Sylvan Lake.
Things continued to go well, with the team bringing home the gold medal on the consolation side at their first AVA Premiere Tournament in Calgary.
The team entered the AVA Provincial Tournament seeded 20th in Alberta. With 54 teams competing, it would not be easy to finish higher. However, the girls put into action their strong passing, blocking and hitting skills.
The girls caused quite an upset by finishing first in their pool. Next, they were points away from vying for one of the top four spots in the province when they lost 23-25 and 22-25 to the Edmonton Pandas. Following this loss, the team continued to compete nose-to-nose with the strongest teams in the province. In the end, the girls finished a very impressive seventh place in the province’s top division. A proud moment for the team, coaches and parents.
None of this would have been possible without the guidance and dedication from coaches Tammy Emes and Chris Rowland. Thanks to Heather Huseby, Kenton Levesque, Cole Levesque, Matthew Rowland, Breanne Emes, and Jenna Brake for coming out to practices and working with the girls.