The Holy Trinity Knights varsity boys volleyball team have a few battle score from years battling against their crosstown rivals from Foothills Composite, the six-time Foothills Athletic Council winners.
This year the Knights have to battle hard on the court against the biggest school in the FAC, or their provincial dreams could be dashed.
Holy Trinity has moved up to 4A, the division with the largest-school population in the province, and that means they will likely be facing the Comp in zones.
Knights coach Fritz Peters said although their school is one of the smallest in 4A they are already proving they are competitors against much larger schools.
“We are just over by 40 or 80 students,” she said of the 3A cutoff.
At a 4A tournament at the University of Calgary, the Knights showed they could go toe-to-toe with one of the biggest and skilled teams in the province, Peters said.
“We played against the Nooks club (Jasper Place High School in Edmonton) and they have placed second amongst 49 teams from across Canada, mostly from western Canada, and we took 19 points from them,” she said.
However, when they faced off against their hometown rivals from the Comp, HTA learned there is always more to learn.
The Comp took their matches 25-17, 25-15.
The team’s six returning players are all in Grade 12 and are already leading with experience and humility, Peters said.
“They are such a coachable team,” she said.
“There is a lot of determination. They are always asking how they can improve.”
This year the Knights will face the Falcons in their last regular season home game Oct. 25. Peters said the contest will likely be a preview of what is to come at zones.
“We will likely face them in the semi-finals or finals at zones,” she said, adding the goal is to defeat their rivals and secure a provincial berth.
“I’d like to see us compete at provincials,” she said. “These boys have the heart to do it.”
The Falcons senior boys are experiencing change this year with a new coach and only four players returning this season.
Veteran player Tate Morrell is leading the team as captain in the outside hitter position. Also returning are Ben Parkinson on outside, Scott Chizen in the middle position and Ben Rahn on the right side.
Megan Skory is taking over coaching duties from veteran coach Corey Cowper.
She said the goal this year this year is simply to get to provincials.
This year will be significantly different. In previous years, the boys often had a bye to get into provincials, but this year Chestermere and HTA will be joining them in 4A.
“We’ve got to make sure we take any (practices) and tournaments seriously,” she said.
The Falcons regular season is getting a late start. They play their first regular season game Oct. 4 so in the meantime, they will continue to play at tournaments, including one at Bishop O’Byrne in south Calgary this weekend, Skory said.
The boys have made a commitment to work hard before the regular season kicks off.
“These guys have shown they are dedicated,” said Skory.
She said the regular season will be short because there are only five senior boys teams in the Foothills athletic council.
Holy Trinity downed Strathcona-Tweedsmuir 3-1 in their first league game Sept. 13 then had a bye last week and resumed play Sept. 27 against the Oilfields Drillers.
Oilfields started their season by downing the County Central Hawks 3-0 on Sept. 20 in Vulcan.
The Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartans hosted the Hawks last night, but results were too late for the Western Wheel’s deadline.
To see the full schedule go to www.teampages.com/leagues/5416
