Foothills athletes served up some exciting volleyball action on Wednesday evening.
The Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School Spartans hosted the Holy Trinity Academy Knights in a battle for the Foothills Athletic Council senior girls volleyball banner on Nov. 6, with the Spartans emerging victorious.
"There was a couple times where they went down several points, and they were able to be mentally tough and resilient, and rebound through those and fight their way back into the game," said Spartans coach Michael Hoang.
The Spartans started strong with a resounding win in the first set, with the following two sets proving to be closer. The third set saw the Knights up by six right at the start.
"I'm not going to lie, when we were down 6-0, that had me a little bit," said Spartans captain Georgia Strangemann. "But you know, everyone just pulled it back together."
The win comes after a major roster restructuring that the Spartans had to undergo following a critical player's season-ending injury.
"Our team has gone through a lot of obstacles this year with injuries and things like that," said Hoang. "They work hard, they deserve it. They're one of the hardest working groups I've had, so it was nice to see them get their just reward."
The Knights had been on the cusp of a three-peat, following titles in 2022 and 2023.
"We were hoping to do a bit better tonight, but they played well," said Keely O'Callaghan, co-captain of the Knights.
"We kind of kept our lead, we'd lose it a bit and then we'd get it back, but we never quite held it."
The Spartans and Knights had been ranked first and second, respectively, in the Foothills Athletic Council ranks.
"They serve well, they hit well, they have a couple really physical middles and so it was not unexpected that we played them in the final," said Hoang of his team's opponent.
Up next for the Spartans is the Alberta Schools' Athletic Association 2A South Central Zone championships, happening at Oilfields High School in Diamond Valley on Nov. 15 and 16.
Learn more about the Foothills Athletic Council and Alberta Schools' Athletic Association on their websites.
