Atcheynum sisters reflect on winning silver at NAIG

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Megan is a right side hitter and Anna is a left side hitter.

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“[Megan] has a really good, strong, tall, block, which is absolutely necessary on the right side,” Gratton said. “And then also being a left handed hitter, we’re able to set her as much as possible and it’s easy for her to attack from the right side. Because most teams that you play against aren’t used to that sort of thing… it really disrupts the defence on the other team.

“We used [Anna] primarily for passing on serve receives and hitting high balls. She has a very tall reach when she’s hitting, which allowed her to get overtop or hit around blocks quite easily. She also plays with a lot of confidence. She’s very consistent.” 

Together, Anna and Megan helped Team Saskatchewan go 5-1 in the round robin, and then defeat Manitoba in the quarters and B.C. in the semifinal to advance to the final.

“It was such a cool experience,” Anna said. “The whole thing was really interesting.

“We went to Niagra Falls and… just hanging out with the team, it was amazing just being there. It was so much fun.”

Unfortunately, Team Sask fell just short in the finals against Alberta, who was the only team to beat them in the round robin.

Although they lost the match three sets to none, all three were within a couple of points.

“I think the nerves got the best of us [in the final],” Megan said. “We didn’t come toegther as a team like we had in prior games… [but to win silver] means everything to me. It’s such an accomplishment. It was kind of my last chance to play [competitive] volleyball. Just getting to the gold medal game was an accomplishment in itself.”

“It’s pretty amazing,” Anna added about coming second of 14 teams. “Out of all of Canada and some of the United States, that’s a pretty big accomplishment.”

Gratton said the semifinal win over B.C. meant a lot to the team too, as they were considered favourites. B.C. hadn’t lost a game up to that point.

“We were quite ecstatic,” Gratton said about the semifinal win. “It was a hard fought match and again, mentally exhausting, and we managed to stay with them and upset.

“In 2014 when Regina hosted, the women’s team lost out… and didn’t medal. So this was a great showing for us… Our team goal leading up to the tournament was to medal. To be able to upset the number one ranked B.C. in the semifinal and be in the final, we’d realized our goal and I think in the end, the girls are quite happy,” said Gratton.

But as is the case with many of these large scale athletic competitions, it’s not just about the results.

Megan said seeing such a huge number of Indigenous athletes come together was amazing in itself.

“The people – getting to meet Aboriginal youth from all over North America [was a highlight],” she said. “There was about 5,000 athletes there and the atmopshere was just really fun.

“I loved it. It was an amazing experience.”

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11