The SRSS Grade 9 Boys Volleyball Team has had an incredible year, and this last Saturday they had an amazing wrap to the season winning the Volleyball MB Grade 9 Open Championships in 3 sets over CJS.
Head Coach Mike Pittman says this group of boys is really close, and it shows on the court.
“They've been playing and competing with each other for so long, and I think it's the way they come together, it's just one big family.”
Player Carter Pittman says that what made the team succeed was how they always pushed each other to be better.
“We always push each other to our limits, and if we didn't push each other, we wouldn't have our success and we're just all around a really good team.”
Another player Robert Banman says cheering each other on was a huge highlight of the season.
“Being loud is a really big part, either on the bench or on the court. It's also super helpful during tournaments, if we're down, they all bring us back up and we could all play very well.”
Not only did the boys get a large amount of wins this season, they rarely lost a set.
The team did not drop a set to any other Grade 9 team this season in the province, until the second set of their final game.
Coach Pittman says the boys knew where they were in the standings throughout the season, and they knew their record, so Pittman gave them a warning going into their last tournament.
“On Tuesday before the weekend, I actually said to the boys, 'guys, we all know that we haven't dropped a set this year, but if you guys think that we're going to not drop a set this weekend, you're fooling yourselves.'"
They never lost a set in the round-robin or playoffs, but they did lose their second set in the finals.
“I referenced our chat on Tuesday and told these boys, ‘I told you you were going to lose a set. Right now, you need to go out and close this.’ and they did. We came out and won 15-6 in the third set.”
Their complete set win/loss record was 76-12, and versus grade 9 teams, they were 45-1.
Banman says it was great to end on such a positive note.
“To have that, it's just amazing, especially in our home gym. We were here in Steinbach for provincials, which was really good,” he says. “Once we won, the whole crowd erupted because it's all the fans that are from the school and everybody from around with parents, and it was just amazing. Everybody was just super excited to have that win.”
Coach Pittman says volleyball in the southeast is at such a high level this year, and many different schools and age groups are excelling.
“The success that the local volleyball players and teams have had in this area has just been mind-blowing, and this goes to the SRSS teams, to the SCS teams, to the CMS teams. Everyone is excelling.”
With files from Dave Anthony
Wed, May 1, 11:00 AM
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