Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
The Holy Trinity Academy Knights made sure not to forget what losing a championship game feels like and erased an early one-set deficit to dispatch the Foothills Falcons and take their first Foothills Athletic Council Senior Girls Volleyball title in three years.
“We were really focused on our goal, we really wanted it,” said Knights captain Dora Komlodi. “Last year we lost in the same game in sort of the same situation.
“Instead of dying down after the first set like we did last year we bounced back and came back with a fierce will to win.”
The Knights were poised to run away with the opening set scoring nine of the first 10 points until a funny thing happened.
Foothills woke up in a major way, responding with a 9-1 run of its own to level the score at 10-10. The Falcons would eventually take the set by a 25-23 count clinched on a smash by co-captain Chayle Clark.
“We were down a ton,” said Falcons head coach Corey Cowper. “I liked their fight. What we’re lacking right now is just consistency. When we find that consistency they’re going to be a very scary group to play.”
The Knights wrestled momentum away from their foes in the second set led by better blocking and more precise finishing at the net. After three straight services aces from Julia Simard, the team was in striking distance of taking the set. Annelise Hielema proved to be the closer, smashing away a hit to take the second set 25-22.
“I didn’t sense any panic,” said Knights head coach Crystal Anderson. “And that’s what’s nice about this team. They’re pretty congruent. They just shrugged it off.
“It was a slower start, but we won the next three and I knew we were capable of that.”
The third set followed the same script as HTA build an early lead and hung on for a 25-20 win. Sensing the title within their reach, the Knights came out in the fourth set with their best performance of the evening taking the clincher by a 25-19 count.
The team got a late surge of energy from the action two courts over.
The Knights boys capped off their championship triumph over the Foothills Falcons during a timeout in the girls final.
“We saw that they won,” Komlodi said. “I think the idea of both teams winning also helped us to play better and increased our desire to win.”
Anderson, who announced she’s moving to the Maritimes in the near future, capped off her Knights coaching career with her first league banner with the team since the 2013 campaign.
“It’s especially heart-warming for me to leave the school with winning another championship,” she said.
“We’ve built all the way until this point. We’re going to be losing a lot of our Grade 12s so I think we’re at a peak this year.”
The Knights took the regular season meeting between the clubs in straight sets. Led by a stronger defensive effort, the Falcons put up a much stiffer test in the final.
“I think we made progress with them,” Cowper added. “They’re a great team. They’re strong defensively, they’re strong offensively, they serve tough.
“They’re tough to beat and we’re going to have to be at our best to beat them.”
The squads meet again at the 4A South Central Zone Championship hosted by the Falcons on Nov. 18-19. The four team tournament also features George McDougall and Chestermere High.
For more information go to fac.teampages.com
