The Cenovus fieldhouse was packed with volleyball players from across the province, including the Lac La Biche Warriors girls volleyball team, who landed in fifth spot in last weekend’s Warriors Crusade volleyball club tournament at the Bold Center. Lac La Biche’s other volleyball team, the U-17 girls Pac team, finished in seventh spot in the volleyball tourney.
Both team coaches had hoped their teams would have landed in a better spot in the standings, but recognized that their players competed well. Warriors coach Ryan Biollo had expected his team, who have been doing well this season, to land in a better spot by Sunday but with the team missing star players and girls at the tourney forced to play positions they aren’t used to, the team struggled for a win.
“We were missing key players so it made it difficult for the girls. Overall, the girls played really well though,” said Biollo.
The volleyball tourney saw a total of seven teams compete, with teams travelling from Camrose, Edmonton, Cold Lake and Bonnyville to play in the Saturday and Sunday volleyball event.
Lac La Biche’s Pac team, which has mostly younger players, also struggled for a win, but head coach Doug Webster says he was happy to see the girls improve their skills during the tourney.
“We played our Saturday morning matches well and our level of play is coming around,” he said, adding that the team is still striving for more wins. “We may not be getting the wins we need, but our level of play is improving.”
Both teams are getting ready for the provincials in Calgary scheduled for April 30 and May 1, with the Warriors currently sitting in third spot in the Division 2 level. The team’s standing is thanks to their wins at the games in Edmonton and Leduc on April 9 and 10, where the girls competed well enough to place them in the top three, said the team’s coach.
Biollo is confident the team will do equally as well at the provincial event as they did in Edmonton and says the team is looking good going into the provincials.
“We’re in great standing for the provincials and I know the girls will do well,” he said.
The Pac volleyball team may not be sitting in third spot, but the team’s coach looks forward to seeing the girls gain more experience with bigger-scale competitions like provincials.
“The more experience they get playing, the better they’ll become,” said Webster.
