Senior girls volleyball teams from around the region got to stay up late playing games Nov. 10 at Boyle School.
The Boyle School Redeye Tournament saw four teams from Thorhild, Plamondon, Westlock and Boyle compete from 4 p.m. until the final at midnight.
Boyle School took the win on their home turf, beating the École Beausejour Lynx during the final in only two sets, 25-18 and 25-15.
“Our girls, as the night progressed, played better and better, and we’re kind of looking at it as building towards our zone tournament next weekend,” said Darrell Bergmann, Boyle School Huskies assistant coach.
He added it “didn’t matter who we put out there … everyone was playing well.”
Jackie Vetsch, Thorhild Bulldogs assistant coach, said the tournament is a valuable experience for the young volleyball players because of the fun element.
“Of course, anytime youth hear ‘let’s stay up late,’ their mind goes to extra fun,” she said. “I guess it’s not a bad exercise, too, whether you’re going to a tournament and playing very early or very late, to kind of stretch them to stay alert and push themselves to have that good mental game, or physical game, even though it’s at midnight.”
Bergmann said the tournament was a nice tune up for teams that are moving on to zones, and a good season-ender for some teams. The zone tournament will be held at Boyle School over the Nov. 17 weekend.
“First, it’s a late one for the girls. What makes it also kind of unique is it’s either the last tournament of the year for teams or it’s a tune-up for zones and possibly provincials,” Bergmann said. “It’s kind of a final tune-up weekend rather than a weekend off. We’re fine tuning things we need to do well next weekend.”
