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Rebels win Meadow Lake tournament, topping Xplosion in final once again

Feb 13, 2018 | 10:18 AM

The Riverside Rebels added another undefeated slate of games to their resume this past weekend, taking home a gold medal from a tournament in Meadow Lake.

The 15-U girls volleybal club beat the Battlefords Volleyball Club (BVC) Xplosion in the final in three sets, after taking down La Loche in the semifinal.

“It was a very good final. Well played by both teams,” Rebels head coach Vic Stynsky said. “Both teams had their moments, like any amateur team does.”

The Rebels came up short in the first set due to poor passing, Stynsky said. But they rebounded after making some changes for the second set, and then used that momentum to take the third and final set 15-11.

“I always try to tell my girls, ‘Let’s win that race to eight,’” Stynsky said of the deciding set. “At eight points, you switch sides because the [third] game is up 15. So I always try to tell them ‘Let’s get up and when we switch sides, let’s have that momentum.’ And that’s kind of what happened.”

The Rebels led 8-4 at the switch and used that momentum to come out on top.

On the season, the club is now 12-0 in all matches.

“It’s been a good start to the season,” Stynsky said. “It’s always nice when you can build on something positive right from the start of the year.”

The Rebels currently practice twice a week, and Stynsky said he is definitely seeing improvement already. 

“We’re continuing to work on our defensive play,” he said. “I think that’s one area that we’re going to have to keep working hard at. [And] once again, it’s always about passing. If you can’t pass, you can’t get an offensive game.”

Up next for the Rebels is a tournament in Prince Albert on Feb. 25, where the expectation is tougher competition.

It will be good preparation for the next Booster Juice Sask Cup on March 3 and 4.

“I’m thinking there’s going to be a good field [in Prince Albert] and we’re looking forawrd to it,” Stynsky said. “Unfortunately, [during] the February break we always have families go away so we’re going to be short a couple players but everyone else has just got to step up and play a little harder.”

 

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11