The 14U Interlake Smash volleyball team returned home with a silver medal after competing at Volleyball Nationals in Edmonton, Alta., from May 7 to 10.
The team, made up of players and coaching staff from Warren, Rosser, Stony Mountain, Stonewall, Teulon, Marquette and Gimli, competed against teams from across Western Canada.
Interlake opened the tournament by winning two of its three round-robin matches on the first day of competition. On Day 2, the team faced tougher opponents and secured a key victory over an Alberta squad in its final match to advance to the quarter-finals.
In quarter-final action, the Smash defeated Manitoba rival Club West Rage in straight sets, 29-27 and 25-22, to earn a spot in the semifinals.
The team then battled the Calgary Bulls of Alberta in a hard-fought semifinal match, rallying after dropping the opening set 7-25 to winning the next games 25-11 and 15-13.
Interlake faced another Manitoba team, Skyline, in the championship final. Skyline claimed the national title in three sets with scores of 25-15, 9-25 and 15-8.
The final day of nationals brought plenty of emotion and intensity. “The girls improved their ranking by 14 spots at nationals and played their best volleyball of the season at nationals,” head coach Darcy Olson said.
Assistant coach Payton Janke was pleased with the steady improvement that the team showed throughout the season. “The girls worked so hard this season to get better and there was such a big improvement from our very first tournament to the end at nationals,” she said. “It is so great for the girls to go home with a medal. They deserved it.”
