The Estevan Extreme Thunder 13-and-under volleyball team came home with the gold medal in Tier 2 from the provincial tournament in Warman and Saskatoon on April 6 and 7.
The Thunder opened the competition by going 2-1 in the round-robin, defeating the Prince Albert Toppers 2-0 (25-23, 25-21) and the Battleford Volleyball Club Blaze 2-0 (25-10, 25-13), but losing 2-0 (25-21, 25-22) to the Warman Volleyball Club.
The Thunder were re-pooled, and played crossover games. They were defeated by the Rose Valley Volleyball Club 2-0 (25-19, 25-21), and by the Prince Albert Toppers En Fuego 2-1 (25-10, 28-30 and 15-12).
The losses dropped them down to Tier 2, where they re-established their dominance. They defeated the Regina Queen City Volleyball Club Thunder 2-0 (25-15, 25-10), the Saskatoon HVC White 2-1 (25-13, 21-25, 15-8) and the Wascana Silver 2-0 (25-16, 25-19) in the gold medal game.
“They did very well at staying positive, and encouraging one another and putting everything that they’ve learned all season into play in those final games,” said head coach Shelan Proust.
The Thunder have come a long ways from the team that stepped on the court for practice for the first time earlier this season, and they encountered some really tough teams at provincials.
“The one PA team En Fuego was really tough,” said Proust. “Rose Valley and Warman were really tough as well. Those are the ones that we lost to.”
The gold medal capped a successful season for the Thunder, as they also won gold at tournaments in Kipling and Oxbow. And they finished seventh in a Sask. Cup tournament in Warman on March 23 and 24.
Proust said they will have just one player eligible to return next seasons, as the others will be able to move up to the 14U team.
