Rimbey’s girls’ senior volleyball team won their pool with ease but lost out in the semifinals at their recent home tournament.
“We played really well in the round robin, said volleyball coach Lisa Shukin. “We confidently walked through our pool.”
Rimbey lost to St. Dominic’s from Rocky Mountain House in the semifinals. “The Rocky girls played amazingly well,” said Shukin.
Shukin feels the Spartans lost partly due to a lack of confidence. Rimbey played St. Dominic’s earlier in league play and Shukin says they lost badly. The first set during the tournament also didn’t go well. “They were a little gun shy.”
Shukin said the team regained their confidence for the second set “when they realized they could do this.” Despite their rocky, start Rimbey lost by only two points, 25-23.
“You have to try and put them with people they trust and carry that trust across all the players,” said Shukin. She says building the girl’s confidence, by improving their technical playing, is something the team is going to work on.
When Rimbey first played St. Dominic’s, a lack of technicality led to a lack of confidence. “We did not play well … we were missing serves galore,” said Shukin.
The team worked hard to improve their play the tournament, said Shukin, but had a “mental glitch” when they played St. Dominic’s.
“We are definitely a team that is capable of winning a tournament. They communicate well as a team,” said Shukin. “We’re looking forward to having a strong season.”
Rimbey’s next home games are Oct. 15 and 16.