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Racette smashes through SPAA championship

It was a tough contest on both the boys’ and girls’ sides of this year’s junior St. Paul Athletic Association volleyball championship tournament, Nov.
The Ashmont Falcons take on Two Hills during a junior SPAA game, last week. The Racette boys’ and girls’ teams won this year’s championship banners.
The Ashmont Falcons take on Two Hills during a junior SPAA game, last week. The Racette boys’ and girls’ teams won this year’s championship banners.

It was a tough contest on both the boys’ and girls’ sides of this year’s junior St. Paul Athletic Association volleyball championship tournament, Nov. 20, but in the end, the Racette Raiders would steal both banners away from their hungry counterparts.

On the boys’ side, Racette would meet up with Elk Point’s F.G. Miller for the final game of the tournament. And while the game was decided in two sets, it was a tight race to the finish, regardless.

The first set finished 25-20, for the Raiders, and in the second set, St. Paul saw themselves fall behind. But, they managed to mount a comeback and win the set 25-23.

Overall, the season went well for the Racette boys, according to assistant coach Kylie Field. With only nine players on the team, the Raiders were a smaller than usual crew, lead by head coach Aaron Christensen.

Field noted that the boys knew they would likely meet up with F.G. Miller in the final game of the tournament, and had lost to the Elk Point team previously during regular league play.

“We were expecting to meet them in the finals, and excited to take them on again,” said Field. She noted that although the game ended in Racette’s favour, it truly could have gone either way, and gave credit to the Crusaders.

“They had a strong team this year.”

On the girls’ side, it would be Racette facing off against the Mallaig Stingers, Monday night. And, it would take three sets to determine the winner.

Racette grabbed the first set by a score of 25-21; and the Stingers managed to steal the second set by the same score. It was all or nothing in the third set, with the Raiders coming out on top, 15-10.

Overall, the girls had a strong season, according to Tanya Hebert, who coached the team, along with her husband Rod. The girls went to a tournament in Edmonton during the first week of school and finished fourth; then, they went to Lloydminster where they finished second after competing against a strong team from North Battleford.

Then, the girls travelled to Lac La Biche where they competed in a Grade 9/10 tournament and won.

“We had a really good season,” said Tanya, adding, the girls developed well throughout the season, and despite fighting some nerves at the SPAA championship tournament, they managed to grab the banner.

In the semi-finals, Racette would compete against Glen Avon, and that game would take three sets to determine a winner. Then, with the final also going to three sets, it spoke to the athleticism and leadership within the SPAA volleyball program.

“Mallaig and G.A. have some really strong athletes, and good coaching,” said Tanya.


Janice Huser

About the Author: Janice Huser

Janice Huser has been with the St. Paul Journal since 2006. She is a graduate of the SAIT print media journalism program, is originally from St. Paul and has a passion for photography.
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