As Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association 3A varsity girl’s provincial volleyball hosts, Cochrane High School Cobras can take this weekend off. They have a berth at Nov. 20-21 provincials secured as hosts.
The Nov. 14-15 Alberta South Central Zone tournament in Brooks is merely a formality.
Cobras don’t play that.
“Going in as the No. 1 seed, we hope to play at a high level and hopefully win our way into provincials even though we already have a berth,” Cobras varsity girl’s volleyball head coach Landon Thompson said of this weekend’s Zone tourney at Brooks. His team is in good spirits, having just won divisionals Nov. 4 on its home floor.
“Very loose. We had a great practice. We had a very FUN practice,” Thompson emphasized. “(Prior to Zones) we’re going to practice with the University of Calgary Dinos. Then we’re off to the tournament.”
Including Cobras, 10 schools are in Brooks for Zones including Brooks, Strathmore, Olds, Springbank, Chestermere, Holy Trinity Academy (Okotoks) and Highwood (High River).
Including non-league tournament play, Cobras have seen every team at Zones. They know the competition, to a point.
“With high school girl’s volleyball, ages 16-18, the learning curve is so steep that by the end of the season some teams are unrecognizable because they’ve improved so much,” Thompson cautioned. “Take, for example, George Mac the other night. All those games were highly contested and we expect, as the No. 1 seed, to have a big target on our back all weekend.”
A short-staffed (two substitute players) George McDougall Mustangs side took Cobras to a fourth set in the Nov. 4 Division championship at CHS before Cochrane prevailed 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 27-25, 25-16).
But Thompson is confident in his group, naming a few of the key position players on his very deep, skilled team.
“Rachel Solecki is obviously our leader. She’s a left-side hitter, Grade 12. She finished with 31 kills the other night against George Mac. An average game is about 15 kills. She really played outside herself,” Thompson said. “Jade Van Dyke is a Grade 11 left-side hitter. She’s second on our team in kills. Mackenzie Gladue is our setter. She does it all, she’s the complete package. Lauren Van Dyke is a Grade 12 middle. She and Ali (Leskow) make a pretty fearsome combination in the middle, so teams have to be really smart when they hit against us. Our libero (defensive specialist) is Maddie Henderson. She brings a lot of energy every time she laces up her shoes.”
And Cobras are bringing their high-energy game to Brooks Nov. 14-15, hoping to add the Zone title to their divisional crown.
