The Weyburn Cobras 15U women’s volleyball team attended Nationals in Edmonton from May 9-12. The Cobras were seeded number three in Saskatchewan going into Nationals, so were placed in Division 1, which included the top 32 teams in the country.
There were five divisions at Nationals, with a total of 152 teams altogether. They began with the preliminary round robin on Friday, and played three tough opponents.
Their first game was against the Panda Gambettes, who were seeded first in Alberta. The Cobras played a very hard-fought battle but lost in two games straight, 25-20 in both sets.
Their next game was against the third-seeded team in B.C., the Thunder Blue. The Cobras came out on top, beating the Thunder Blue in two sets, 25-18 and 25-21.
Their final game in the preliminary round robin was against the fourth-seeded team in Manitoba, the Junior Bison Gold. The Junior Bisons beat the Cobras in two straight, 25-10 and 25-17, which left the Cobras third in their pool after the first day.
On Saturday, the Cobras were re-pooled into a power pool. In their first game, they were defeated by SPVC out of Grande Prairie, Alta., in two sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-23. The Cobras won their next game beating QCVC out of Regina by scores of 25-17 and 25-21.
In the last game of the day on Saturday, the Cobras faced the T2 Crew from Kelowna, B.C. They won the first game 25-12, lost the second game 25-17, and ended up losing the third game 14-16, which again left the Cobras third in their pool, placing them in the division one, tier four playoff bracket on Sunday.
The Cobras quarter-final game on Sunday morning was against the second-seeded team from Saskatchewan, the Saskatoon Smash. The Cobras came out on top, beating the Smash in two straight sets, 25-23 and 25-18, to advance them to the semi-finals in Division 1 Tier 4, against the Thunder Blue from B.C, who they already played on Friday in the preliminary round and beat.
However, this time it was the Thunder Blue who came out on top, defeating the Cobras in the semi-final in three sets, 25-23, 25-19, and 15-5, which ended their playoff run at Nationals, placing them 27th out of 152 teams, which is an amazing accomplishment.
Members of the Weyburn Cobras volleyball team include Emma Kot, Jill Zackrisson, Macie Hala, Keira Phillips, Ashley Kot, Troy Dickie, Jamie Labbie, Mya Folk, and Emersyn Jordens, with head coach Luke Guest, and assistant coaches Leslie Dickie and Angie Zackrisson.
