The road to the provincial championships goes through Okotoks this weekend.
The Foothills Falcons host the 4A Senior Girls Volleyball South Central Zone Championships this weekend looking to atone for a second place finish to the rival Holy Trinity Academy Knights in Foothills Athletic Council action.
“We’ve got a week to prepare. This (final) is kind of small in the grand scheme of things,” said Falcons head coach Corey Cowper after the league final. “The zone matches for who goes to provincials are obviously going to be the match. That’s the one we’re going to be preparing for.”
Foothills will need to get through more than the undefeated Knights to make it out of zones.
The four-team tournament also features Airdrie’s George McDougall Mustangs along with the Falcons and a pair of newcomers to the 4A ranks in the Knights and the Chestermere Lakers.
The round-robin tourney will see each team play one another on Nov. 18.
The following day the number-one seed in pool play meets the fourth seed at 12 p.m. while the second and third seed meet in the semifinal on Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. The zone final will be held at 4 p.m. at the Falcons gym.
“I’m not going to be concerned with our round-robin matchup with HTA so much,” Cowper said. “The meaningful one will be in a playoff match when it counts.
“I’ve never seen Chestermere or George McDougall this year. They’re kind of unknown quantities so we will have to wing it a little bit.”
Same thing goes for the freshly minted FAC champions. While playing two unfamiliar squads it’s best to stick to what the Knights do best.
“We haven’t played George Mac or Chestermere yet so just playing our game and rising up to the competition,” said Knights coach Crystal Anderson. “George Mac usually has a strong team every year. As long as we have the control when we play, to remain true to ourselves we should be consistent and should be okay.”
The Knights and Falcons rivalry continues among the boys on the hard court.
As the only 4A schools in the region, the rival schools duke it out in a best-of-three South Central Zone championship.
HTA won their first league banner since 2009 by outlasting the Falcons last week.
“Confidence is always a key, but before the game we have to shake it off,” said the Knights’ Colton Kroon. “We have to start new. We can be up 20 points and they can somehow comeback. It has to be new point, new game.
“Going into zones I don’t think we’re going to be cocky at all. We’re going to be very weary of them and we’re going to make them play hard.”
For their part, the Falcons should have a better feel for what the hard-hitting Knights bring to the court at Zones after now seeing the team twice in the past month of action.
“We need to focus on next week. We’ve got to be ready for those two games,” said Falcons head coach Megan Skory. “We’re kind of getting a feel for who they are as a team and we’re starting to make those adjustments.”
Game 1 of the set goes at the Knights gym on Nov. 16 before switching back to Foothills on Nov. 17. Both games are 6 p.m. starts.
If necessary, Game 3 would be hosted by HTA at 2 p.m. on Nov. 20.
The action stays in the Okotoks area in the 2A boys ranks.
The Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartans host the 2A Boys South Central Zone tournament from Nov. 18-19.
STS put up a good fight in league play, giving the Knights a test in a four-set semifinal in the FAC playoffs.
The teams will be battling for a spot to compete down the road in Black Diamond as the upstart Oilfields Drillers are the proud hosts of the 2A Boys Provincial Championships from Nov. 23-26.
For more information on zone play go to southcentralzone.com
