Vikings ready to pillage in Double Blue Tournament

By Greg Price
Vauxhall Advance
gprice@tabertimes.com

The Vauxhall Vikings boys volleyball team has seen a marked improvement in its play for the 2016 season as it looks to embark 20 minutes down Highway 36 to compete in the upcoming Double Blue Tournament in Taber.

“We’ve been doing good. It’s been a better year for our boys compared to the last couple of years,” said Jason Schellenberg, head coach of the Vauxhall Vikings boys volleyball team.

The Vikings have played four tournaments to date with the Vikings best finish being a second place in Bassano.

The Vikings also have had tournaments at F.P. Walshe, Lethbridge College and Banff.

“We have a core group of players coming through for a couple of years that are providing some really good leadership. With any team, that is key. When you get a couple of Grade 12s that are setting the pace and tempo at practices and games, our oldest kids are the ones that are diving and hitting the floor first, hustling hard and crashing bleachers,” said Schellenberg. “All those things set the precedent for the up and comers.

“The Grade 10s coming into the program, they see what the expectations are for the team and they step up their game a little bit. I haven’t seen that the last couple of years, so it’s a bit of a culture shift within the team and the program. Moving forward, we want to keep that where we are going to be a gritty team. We are going to hit the floor and get those balls other teams think are impossible to get to.”

The Vikings play in the Double Blue Volleyball Tournament this weekend, starting off with a noon match against host St. Mary’s Celtics on Friday.
Friday’s slate for the Vikings in Taber also include matches at 2:30 p.m. (Brant Christian), 5 p.m. (Bassano).

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