Provincial silver medal hard earned for Carpenter High

After a competitive provincial tournament, the Carpenter High School Men’s volleyball team ended their season fighting, albeit without the desired outcome.

The silver medal finish in the 4A provincial tournament came after having claimed victory over every team in the event, prior to coming up short in the championship tilt against John Paul II Collegiate. Carpenter had topped the Catholic school from North Battleford just one week ago.

Coach Trent Marsh said the ending is bittersweet, explaining that while they weren’t able to close out the year the way they wanted, they were still able to assert themselves as a daunting challenge for those they faced along the way.

“I thought the boys played really well,” he said. “They took care of business in every match they played in.”

“There weren’t any of those lulls or down points where we were losing sets or didn’t keep our composure, so I was really happy that they were able to keep fighting and playing hard all weekend long.”

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The team is composed of mostly Grade 10 and 11 players, with just four Grade 12’s. Several of the younger athletes will have to take the step forward into a bigger role next season.

Before looking into next year to build on their success, Marsh reflected on the time with his players and highlighted the senior’s performances before they move on.

“I think they’re proud of what we were able to do, given the circumstances that we were in,” he said.

“To lose our starting center two weeks ago, then come back and win regionals, and then go into provincials and just kind of roll everybody until the final, I thought that was a pretty awesome effort by all of them.”

The Spartans’ volleyball team paved their way to the finals as the top seed in their pool by playing some of their best ball. The squad finished the round robin portion of the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record and didn’t drop a single set in any of the contests.

On the final day of action, the Spartans continued their hot streak with another flawless showing against A.E Peacock from Moose Jaw, before coming from behind against the host Moose Jaw school, Vanier Collegiate, 22-25 25-22 15-11 to reach the final.

Marsh explained while the senior class is frustrated by the loss to an opponent they defeated in straight sets the week prior, they should find comfort in the way they were able to rally and fight until the end.

“A lot of the guys really stepped up, stepped into roles and played their best volleyball,” he said.

“Even though they’re disappointed that we couldn’t quite get it done, I think they’re still pretty proud of the effort that they put in.”

With the 2021 season in the rearview mirror, Marsh said the young core keeping the team intact offers a bright future to keep the team’s success rolling when the sports begins to pick up again next season.

“The guys that are coming back next year are pretty motivated, excited and looking forward to club seasons because they know how competitive they were this year,” he said.

“They want to keep working to get better to come back next year and see if we can finish the job.”

He also thanked parents and staff who helped along the way, mentioning they were key factors in the team’s success.

“Thank you to all the parents and teachers that work with these kids, drive their kids everywhere and came to support us this weekend,” he said.

“It’s not something that’s always easy to do, it takes a lot of commitment from a lot of different people, and I’m really thankful for everybody for all the support and the help.”

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elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp