Last weekend, the boys’ 1A volleyball teams from both Glendon School and École Mallaig School traveled down to St. Mary’s School in Taber to compete in volleyball provincials.
Unfortunately, both teams didn’t make it to the finals. In Pool A, École Mallaig made it to the semi-finals, but bowed out against the Gators from Bow Island’s Senator Gershaw in three sets of 20 – 25, 25 – 23, and 13 -15.
Glendon School, in Pool B, won one of its four matches, and didn’t make it to the semi-finals. In the game that Glendon won, the team beat out the Sonics from Eaglesham School in three sets of 22 – 25, 25 – 20 and 15 – 7. Unfortunately, Glendon lost to the Cobras from Consort School in three sets of 12 – 25, 25 – 22 and 8 – 15, the Sharks from St. Mary in Westlock in two sets of 20 – 25 and 16 – 25, and the Gators from Senator Gershaw from Bow Island in two sets of 19 – 25 and 20 – 25.
Ian MacGillivray, assistant principal and athletic director of École Mallaig, who also coaches the boys’ volleyball team, commented that his team played exceptionally well over the weekend. “We were a much shorter team than the others, but we played great defense and served well.
“We came out and attacked hard,” said MacGillivray, adding, “That’s why we won a lot of our games.”
The school’s boys team made it to provincials last year as well, and the year before that, the team won the provincials, an achievement for a school of 246 students in rural Alberta.
MacGillivray also commented that it benefits his team and the school’s volleyball program to attend the provincials yearly. “Every time we go to the provincials, we get to see the top teams in Alberta on the 1A level,” said MacGillivray, adding, “And for the younger players, they get to see what’s needed to reach that level of volleyball.”
