The under-15 Potential Volleyball Club came back from the national tournament in Edmonton with a gold medal on May 23.
The team won five games in three days in the U15 division on their way to bringing the title back to the territory.
The gold-medal game saw the team face-off against the TSAVC Calgary Attack, winning in three sets. (19-25, 25-23, 15-11)
The team began the tournament strong winning the first two games while losing one set.
However, their success became a problem. Because they were one of the two best teams in their pool, Potential VC moved into the power pool portion of the tournament where they found themselves being shut out in four straight games, including losing to the team which would eventually go on to win the Division 1 championship.
Head coach Paul Shearme said the team's confidence level was a bit shaken having played tough competition but they responded well.
“We knew going into day two we were in for some tough competition,” said Shearme. “We know we didn't play our best volleyball in those rounds but we lost to some great teams.”
The team started their playoff against FOG Black, an Alberta club that won four of their own round-robin match-ups before heading into the playoffs.
Potential VC competed hard and pulled out a victory in three sets. (15-25, 25-18, 9-15)
From there Shearme said he could sense the fight in his team.
“My message to the team was almost sort of a running joke throughout the season...we don't lose third sets,” said Shearme. “We were able to string some great sets together and advance to the finals.”
He added the girls had won eight or nine third set contests heading into the national tournament so it wasn't a surprise to him the team pulled out a few wins.
After the girls scored another momentous victory against the FOG Falcons in the semi-final match up they promptly headed to the championship court for the final.
Potential VC had no time to think about the pressure of a championship game, said Shearme, they had no time to get cold and no time to psych themselves out and they triumphed in their final against TSAVC Calgary Attack, their third Alberta opponent of the day.
Although in the U15 division the team needed productivity from younger players in order to secure the gold medal.
Shearme said a lot of credit from the victory goes to players Katie Genge and Milan Schapowal for their ability to perform in big moments.
“They didn't get much playing time during our round-robin games but they were one of the key reasons why we were successful in the playoffs,” said Shearme. “They stepped up and played a huge roll in helping us win the 15U gold medal... they deserved to be recognized.”
While their younger squad was taking home gold, the U17 Potential VC team did not come away as successfully.
The club went .500 in their bracket during the round-robin portion of the national tournament before falling to Shiver, a team from Yukon, in straight sets in their quarter-final match.