École Mallaig School earned two SPAA volleyball banners this week with both the senior boys and girls Stingers edging out the Regional Saints in hard-fought games to take home the championships on Wednesday night in St. Paul.
Neither Mallaig side had an easy task in taking down their rivals, as they both were left in a hole after losing the first set.
The boys’ team came back hard in their second set, winning 25-17 to force a tiebreaker. Both teams regrouped and took to the court for the final chapter. Regional came out strong, grabbing a lead that the team managed to hold onto until Mallaig closed the gap at 14-14. The Stingers then took the first lead of the tiebreaker at championship point, 15-14.
“What they did is good character. This year we’ve had some trouble doing that, just staying in it. I’m glad today was the day that they showed they could do that,” said Mallaig boys volleyball coach Ian MacGillivray. “You’ve got to stay point by point by point and not look (at the scoreboard); that’s the coach’s job.”
St. Paul refused to give up the set so easily, fighting for momentum in a thrilling back and forth display with the championship on the line. While facing the wrong side of championship point, Mallaig’s Marcel Feland managed to keep a falling ball alive despite being off balance and on his way to the floor. His teammate Zachary Upham slammed the set down on St. Paul to even things back up.
“After it leaves my hands, it’s up to (my teammates). They’re the ones who hit the ball down, I just put it up for them. That was the only thing I was worried about,” Feland said. “This was probably one of the (most fun) games we’ve played because St. Paul is our biggest rival, and players on St. Paul have played for Mallaig before.”
The Stingers used the boost in momentum to give them the final push they needed to take a 21-19 victory and earn their third straight senior boys’ SPAA volleyball banner.
“We’re working hard this year, we’re starting to work as a team,” Feland said. “If you get down on your team, then you’re just going down. St. Paul did a great job of not getting down on themselves either - that’s why the game went to 21-19.”
In the girls final, the Saints picked up the first set, and had the Stingers on the ropes in the final stages of the second set. After the Saints brought the game to championship point at 24-23, the Stingers stole away the next three points to force a tiebreaker set.
The Stingers carried the momentum gained in their second set comeback into the 15-point tiebreaker, taking a strong lead over the Saints early. St. Paul Regional could not match the strong offense push from the Stingers, and Mallaig took the tiebreaker set, 15-9, for the SPAA banner.
“One of the most important things is to keep talking on the floor and just keep smiling. That’s the biggest thing, it keeps everybody up,” said Mallaig’s Meaghan Michaud. “It’s very exciting. We all worked so hard as a team and we’ve wanted this for so long, so it’s really good . . . It kind of prompts us to keep excelling.”
The Stingers boys will advance to provincials this weekend in Vermilion, after winning 1A zones which they hosted at Mallaig School this past weekend. The Mallaig girls’ season is done.
The Saints girls have picked up a wild card position and will also head to provincials in Camrose this week, while the Saints boys went undefeated in 3A zone championships in Cold Lake to claim a spot as well in provincials this week, which, for them, will take place in Whitecourt.
