Mac Olsen
Express Staff
@SmokyRiverExprs
The Georges P. Vanier junior boys’ volleyball team and the Ecole Heritage junior girls’ volleyball team were winners at the Junior Nomads Invitational, held in Peace River during Oct. 20-21.
The GPV boys’ team brought home the bronze medal, while the Heritage girls’ team also won the bronze medal.
Pam Heckbert, the coach for the GPV boys’ team, is pleased with their performance.
“We came out second in our pool,” says Heckbert. “We beat the Glenmary Saints in two games (in the finals). They played really well.”
The Ecole Heritage boys’ team was also at that tournament. They didn’t win a medal, but Captain Nathan Fischer says his team has really improved since the start of the season.
Coach Patrick Simon says the team demonstrated good sportsmanship during the tournament and he was looking forward to taking them to divisionals.
The Ecole Heritage girls’ team brought home a bronze medal as well. Coach Sophie Tremblay had hopes to go to the gold medal game. Nonetheless, she is pleased with their medal.
“I’m proud of them,” says Tremblay.
“They played exactly the way they practiced. They had fun.”
They had a lot of games to play, four round robin and three playoffs.
Captain Hannah Dion commented that her team was nervous going into the tournament. The games were intense during semi-finals, which brought them down because they were over-thinking throughout those games.
They played three sets against the GPV team in quarter finals and won to advance to the semi-finals. La Crete played against Heritage in the semi-finals and won to advance to the gold medal game.
Despite their loss to La Crete, Dion says they will take the inspiration they acquired in Peace River to the zones, which will be held in Grimshaw during Nov. 3-4.
Despite their loss in Peace River, Coach Parker Bonnah for the GPV girls’ team is pleased with their performance.
“We’re almost there,” says Bonnah.
“We have to block, hit and cover. The girls have handled pressure much better since the beginning of the season.”
The team has a chance to win at divisionals and zones, he adds.
Divisionals were held in High Prairie this past Saturday and the zones will be held in La Crete next weekend.
Look for more junior and senior volleyball coverage for GPV and Ecole Heritage in the Smoky River Express as the season comes to an end.
