The Glen Avon Panthers girls volleyball team mounted a comeback to claim SPAA championship glory on home turf last Thursday night, defeating the Racette Raiders 15-13 in a tiebreaking set.
“Last year we got knocked out in the semis, so to win it this year, it was nice,” said Panthers Coach Lynn Smid. “It’s so exciting for the girls that they came out and they fought hard all the way to the end, it was good.”
Racette picked up the first set in the finals, and made a strong attempt to steal the second set away from Glen Avon, but the Panthers managed to close it out and force a tiebreaker.
The Raiders took over control of the third set from the first serve, but the Panthers continued to push back despite continually trailing. Down 13-12, the Panthers finally managed to get the better of Racette, picking up the next three points in a row to complete the comeback.
“It feels really good right now. We’ve worked so hard all year to get to this point, and we worked as a team and played as a team, that’s how you win,” said Panthers Captain Emilee Smid. “We played really hard mentally and physically. We were tired but we still pulled it out, I was proud.”
Lynn added that Racette got the better of the Panthers early in the day, but Glen Avon managed to continue improving as the tournament progressed, and were ready when they had to face their rivals again in the final.
“We came second in our pool to Racette, so they had won the pool and then in the crossover we won that game, and then met in the final against them,” she said. “I’m very thankful for the girls just pushing even when they were down. Never giving up, I guess that would be our motto this year.”
The Panthers will hold a celebratory year-end wrap up on Wednesday, which will see the players square off against their parents in a friendly match.
“Wednesday we’ll get together and have a wrap up party, and probably play the parents, that’s normally what we do. It’s a good time and it gives them a chance to enjoy the win and wrap up the rest of the season before basketball starts,” said Lynn.
The boys tournament saw the Racette Raiders and Mallaig Stingers meet up in the finals, with Racette taking a decisive victory in two sets, 25-23 and 25-21.
Raiders Coach Tanya Hebert said that she was proud of the way her team kept working hard all day long.
“They worked really, really hard yesterday on defence and they picked up balls that they have never really picked up before. They really stepped up their game,” said Hebert. “We’re a small team again, but they didn’t give up. They kept working really hard, they played smart and they knew where to place the ball.”
Hebert added that playing Mallaig has been a special matchup all season long, as the kids on both teams are friends, and display a great deal of sportsmanship in wins and losses.
“It’s been close like that all season and we’ve had really great games against them all year, we’ve really enjoyed playing them,” she said. “The kids are actually all friends, and it makes it way more enjoyable to play each other. Sometimes they win, sometimes we win. It’s just been both sides have great sportsmanship and good camaraderie. The kids are easy to deal with and the parents and coaches have been awesome on both sides.”
