The Teulon Saints have crossed a major item off their season checklist.
The Saints’ junior varsity girls volleyball team went undefeated at the JV A/AA Provincial Round 1 qualifier last Saturday at Grandview School, winning the tournament in front of a strong travelling fan base. The performance continues a season-long trend for Teulon, who have been dominant nearly every time they’ve taken the court.
They now set their sights on the A/AA provincial championship from Nov. 20 to 22 at Birtle Collegiate — the final goal on what coaches describe as a years-long development plan.
“It just kind of comes together with a bunch of dedicated athletes,” said head coach Mike Rawlings. “Luckily there’s enough of them to make a team — a good group of them that are all into it, all hardworking, all really supportive of each other as well.
“That’s a big part of this year’s success — how good friends they are, how supportive they are. There’s no attitudes to deal with, no drama. They’re dedicated to playing the game and being good teammates and good people.”
Rawlings and fellow coach Derek Cook have guided most of the group for the past four years, dating back to when the current Grade 10 core first picked up the sport in Grade 7. Teacher representative Lori Wutke has also supported the program over that span.
Their growth has been dramatic. Last season, Teulon iced a Grade 9 team that routinely challenged and occasionally defeated JV squads at tournaments. Half of that lineup now forms the nucleus of this year’s roster, with eight of the 12 players also competing in club volleyball.
“When they started, they didn’t even know what a bump and a set was,” Cook said. “Now, if you watch them, it’s amazing. It’s like watching college.”
At Grandview, the Saints did not drop a single set, winning all six by at least four points. Their closest match came against the host Grandview Spartans, a straight-sets victory of 25-15 and 25-21.
“We have this tendency to come out sort of flat when we start, but in zones and in this qualifier, they came out just ramped up and played amazing right from the first minute,” said Cook. “There wasn’t much doubt they were going to do well.”
Provincial pools and match schedules have yet to be released, but Teulon will enter as one of two Zone 5 representatives. Other qualifiers include Killarney (Zone 9), Grandview and Gilbert Plains (Zone 8), Birtle (host), Miami (Zone 4), Lac du Bonnet (Zone 13), Hapnot (Zone 11), Gabrielle-Roy (Zone 13), and Warren (Zone 5).
