A pair of rivals was going through some growing pains when they met on the volleyball court last week. However, things were even more painful for the Holy Trinity Academy Knights as they were forced to shift players in their 3-0 loss to the Foothills Falcons in Senior boys Foothills Athletic Council play Thursday. “We didn’t have our setter [Calvin Herr] and Thomas Wilcox stepped in and played,” said Knights coach Fritz Peters. Libero Blake Jeanson also saw action at setter against Foothills. Peters said Wilcox, a power, and Jeanson played well at setter but with the change of positions, it was too much to overcome against the Falcons. “Not having our setter threw everybody for a bit of a loop,” Peters said. “Taking Thomas out of the equation changes everything quite a bit.” Also ruining the math for the Knights was the hitting and blocking of Falcon middle Dylan McGeoch. “It was mostly Dylan that was hurting us — I’m sorry I gave him tips in club ball last year,” Peters said with a laugh. McGeoch said it was teammates that made him look good. “We had really good communication and passes — and Sam (Matsubara) getting the sets where I need them, a lot of quick hits,” McGeoch said. The Falcons also had some big hits from Grade 10 power Colton Mueller, particularly in their 25-16 second set victory. Falcons coach Curt Colfer inherited a young team as many of the players from last year’s squad, which finished sixth in the province, have graduated. “My boys were super-excited to play tonight, the rivalry between Foothills and HTA is always important, it was good,” Colfer said. “And tonight was nothing but positive on both sides of the court and our boys were ready.” He’s seen improvement since the start of the season. “Especially from our younger kids and our older kids are showing great leadership,” Colfer said. “Our group really trusts each other and they are helping each other, we will get better.” The Knights will also continue to improve, Wilcox said. “Last year, we had heavy hitters in Isaiah Michel and Ryan Peters,” he said. “I like this team. This year all the pressure is off, because Comp is the defending champs. “This game was a showcase we just wanted to see what they were like.” So what were they like? “Good,” Wilcox said. “I think the one dude (McGeoch) just stunned us with those first couple of heavy hits, but we were able to get our control back. “We fought.” Peters has seen her team grow since taking the helm in September. “I have seen constant improvement, so hopefully we can get a few more exhibition games in,” Peters said. “Coverage, blocking has improved, today it looked like we needed more work on passing and serving… it’s just getting court time that will help us.” The Falcons are in Lethbridge this weekend for a tournament. Their next FAC game is Oct. 23 when they host the always strong Strathcona-Tweedsmuir Spartans.
