All four of Airdrie’s high-school senior boys’ volleyball teams were in action Oct. 26 to 27 at the annual Kodiak Classic tournament, held at St. Martin de Porres High School. The George McDougall Mustangs, Bert Church Chargers, W.H. Croxford Cavaliers and St. Martin de Porres Kodiaks all featured in the tournament, which also included Alberta teams from high schools in Calgary, Springbank, Brooks, Strathmore and Taber. The host team represented its school well, as St. Martin de Porres competed to a second-place finish. The Kodiaks overcame the Mustangs in the semi-final (25-19, 25-22) but lost to the Springbank Phoenix in the gold-medal game (25-20, 25-21). George McDougall finished fourth in the tournament after falling to Strathmore in the bronze-medal game. The Cavaliers placed fifth and the Chargers rounded out Airdrie teams’ positive play by finishing the 11-team tournament in seventh place. Kodiaks coach Edmund Crame said his players’ performances were promising throughout the busy weekend, which included five best-of-three matches over the two days. “One of the struggles any team [faces] is staying consistent over several matches,” he said. “It’s a good sign, as we get towards the latter half of the season, that we’re starting to find a rhythm.” The Kodiaks started the tournament with round-robin games against the Robert Thirsk Comets and the Strathmore Spartans. The Kodiaks then overcame the Ernest Manning Griffins in three sets (20-25, 28-26, 19-17) in the quarter-final. “For us, that was a huge win – it was a come-from-behind win,” Crame said. “It really was a strong mental game for us and a huge win, in terms of maintaining our focus and staying strategic.” After beating the Mustangs in the semi-final, St. Martin faced its toughest opponent in the gold-medal match against Springbank. Crame said the Phoenix’s service was hard to contend with. “[The Phoenix] had their serving game dialed in during the final, and we had a hard time passing the ball,” he said. “If you can’t make consistent passing off the serve, it’s hard to run the offence you want, and you find yourself playing out of system, often.” The Kodiaks came into its annual tournament on a positive note, in terms of the team’s league play. After starting its 2018 Calgary Senior High School Athletic Association (CSHSAA) Division 2 season with two consecutive defeats, St. Martin de Porres won five matches in a row, and currently sits in third place. The team’s two losses came against Bishop Carroll and Crescent Heights – the two top teams in Division 2, as of Oct. 30. Crame said he was confident his team could make up ground following the 0-2 start. “We got more consistent with our passing and our setting, which were two key parts of our game we needed to work on,” he said. “Even when passes aren’t perfect or things are a little out of system, we’re finding ways to stay engaged, stay aggressive and stay competitive.” The Kodiaks returned to league play Oct. 31 (after press time) with a home tilt against the Notre Dame Lions. St. Martin de Porres will round out the 2018 CSHSAA regular season Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. with an away game against the Nelson Mandela United, before setting its sights on playoffs. For Airdrie’s other senior boys’ volleyball teams, Oct. 29 marked the final round of regular season matches in the Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA). RVSA playoffs will run Nov. 5 to 9.
