The young ladies from Chestermere appeared to be a happy-go-lucky bunch when they paid a visit to Okotoks on the weekend.
But they proved to be lousy guests by putting a damper on a volleyball tournament — beating the host Foothills Falcons in the 4A South Central girls volleyball final 3-1 (25-17, 25-22, 25-18, 25-20) on Nov. 16.
“Our defence wasn’t as strong as it usually is,” said Falcon power Claire Sweeney. “We just couldn’t stay on our toes and we couldn’t pick up as many balls as we usually do.”
Chestermere coach David Wildman said the Lakers had ideal timing.
“This is the best we have seen this team play all season — good timing on that,” he said.
The Lakers came out swinging as they were led by powers, Sarah Merkowsky and Hailey Bailey.
“They were our go-to players,” Wildman said. “They are both Grade 12, so it’s nice to see them have more success in their senior year.”
The Falcons seemed to be down-and-out during the fourth set as they fell behind 15-5, but were later able to close the gap to 17-13.
“I think it was just perseverance, we wanted it really bad — we used everything we had to get as close as we could,” Sweeney said. “Chestermere came in hard, they played a lot better than they did yesterday (in the round-robin).”
Falcons head coach Joanne Schoneck said her squad fought until the end.
“We didn’t quit,” Schoneck said. “But sometimes it is really hard when you are down in a match to keep your mind in the right place. It takes a lot when there is a lot at stake to take those chances.”
She said the Lakers were much improved in the final.
“They had a real strong day today,” Schoneck said after the final. “They came out and beat HTA in three in the semifinal – today they were like a whole different team.”
The Falcons swept the Holy Trinity Academy Knights 2-0 in the tournament opener of Friday — about 10 days since the Knights edged Foothills in five in the Foothills Athletic Council final.
“It was just a matter of determination, they played super well against HTA, probably their best games of the season,” Schoneck said. “Rachel (Anderson) and Claire had some big hits.”
It was important to get a victory over their cross-town rivals.
“We really came out to win — we really wanted this one because we had lost to them at finals,” Sweeney said. “We knew how their players played, we knew how we needed to play and we all came together and played as a team.”
The Falcons then downed the Lakers in three games to get a bye to the final in the three-team tournament.
Schoneck said the Falcons, who graduate six players, played their strongest volleyball in November.
The Falcons are Mayla Melnechenko, Katie Ivanek, Rachael Anderson, Liana Greenshields, Katie Romaniuk, Clarie Sweeney, Brooklyn Knoch, Nalaina Funk, Kallie Ball, Emma Moore and Haileigh Lutes.
