Auroras have a banner weekend

Times Photo submitted

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The St. Mary’s Auroras clinched the ASAA South Zone 1A Girls Championship over the weekend. The tournament ran Thursday through Saturday in Stirling, and the Auroras went into it ranked first in the zone.

Carolyn Siemens, assistant coach and teacher at St. Mary’s, gave us the rundown. “For pool play, we played Taber Christian on Thursday and were able to take the win 25-11, 25-9. On Friday night we had two games, first playing Milk River. This was a tough game for us, we met some tough serving and struggled to find our pass for a bit. With that being said, the girls rallied back in the first set and took the win 25-23, and then the second set 25-17. Our second game that night saw us playing Bow Island. We took them in two sets as well; 25-22 and 25-17. This put us in first place in the pool and gave us a bye to the semi-final game on Saturday.”

Saturday’s semi-final game matched St. Mary’s up against Picture Butte again. “We were able to win the match in two games; 25-17 and 25-21. With that win and Provincials solidified, our goal for the final was a banner. St. Mary’s hasn’t won a Zone banner since 2010, and our girls were determined.” Siemens said the win guaranteed the team’s berth in the provincials championship this week in Peace River as a south zone wild card. “This was our goal our entire season,” she said.

In the final, the Auroras once again met Bow Island. “The Senator Gershaw team had been playing excellent defence, and we knew they would be working hard for the banner as well,” she said, noting that during the first game the team trailed, struggled with their serve, and had trouble finding Gershaw’s side of the court. Nevertheless, “With some hard work and consistent service and passing in the last half of the game, we were able to battle back and take the game 25-23. The second game our girls came out strong and held the lead throughout the game to a 25-12 victory.”

“It was a great tournament for the girls,” Siemens said. “They didn’t lose a set throughout the entire weekend. We saw some really strong serving from our girls throughout the tournament as well as consistent passing. We will leave on Wednesday for the ASAA 1A Girls Provincial Championship hosted by Fahler École Heritage school in Peace River. Opening ceremonies will be on Thursday morning with games beginning after that.”