Five girls from Gilbert Plains, two from Grandview, two from Roblin, and one from Reston can hold their heads as high as possible after their club volleyball season came to an end in Edmonton at the national championships.
Representing the Parkland region, it was a season to remember for the Predators U17 Volleyball Club. With great skill at each position, the team won the Junior Pilots tournament going up against 15 of the strongest teams in the province at the U17 age level. The Predators also finished with a bronze medal at the Bandits tournament and came up just short in another Bandits tournament in finishing with a silver medal.
The Predators also showed off their talents in Regina finishing seventh place out of 28 teams and finishing 10th at the provincial championships. There are so many reasons for the team to hold their heads high and Bryce Shewchuk is very pleased with how the season went.
"I would call this a successful season," said Shewchuk. "We played very tough and always gave it our all."
The team officially wrapped up their season by going up against the top teams in the country at the national tournament. After qualifying for the playoffs in the eighth tier, the Predators started to roll. They beat a team from Fraser Valley in their quarterfinal match and then swept a team from Saskatchewan in their semi-final, showing off incredible poise.
In the finals, the Predators went up against a team from Calgary, and splitting the first two sets, the Parkland-based club came up with a gold medal-winning performance in the third set in a 15-11 win. The team then quickly boarded their bus and made their way back home with gold medals around their neck.
The Parkland now has 10 new national gold medalists.
"I think the best feeling was for our graduating athletes, we have three players leaving us after this season," said Shewchuk. "Everyone played so well. We came out hard on Wednesday, pushed, and we never looked back."
Hailey Tabak, Lara Dixon, and Jayda Shiner have now played their final games as a member of the Predators.
As Bryce looks back on their contributions, he is extremely proud of the tremendous trio.
"They never got down on the team and they were always battling," offered Shewchuk. "They hold themselves to a high level, they want to make sure that the Predators program succeeds."
What amazed Bryce the most this season was that the team was never out of a match. Regardless of whether they were down just a few points or several, the Predators pushed, and more often than not, they came out on the winning side.
"Our group never gave up, they always pushed themselves as far as they could go," ended Shewchuk. "I am so incredibly proud of this group. They worked so hard and they should feel very proud of themselves."
