River East girls dominate on court

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/12/2014 (4306 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When you think about the perfect season you may think of the 1972 Miami Dolphins or perhaps more locally, the University of Manitoba Bisons Football team in 2007.

It’s a rare feat, but one the River East Collegiate Grade 9 girls’ volleyball team achieved this past season.

It might sound a little on the dramatic side, but consider this: The Kodiaks were 44-0 in matches this season and they went 109-3 in sets. The team won five tournaments — including their own River East Invitational, a division championship and a provincial championship.
Impressive, to say the least.

“I knew the season was going to go well, but I didn’t think it would go that well,” said Jeff Spark, head coach of the team. “We had a pretty solid base coming in, but obviously didn’t expect the success that we achieved.”

It’s the first year River East has had a Grade 9 sports program after John Pritchard, Chief Peguis Junior High and Robert Andrews moved their Senior 1 classes to River East Collegiate.
Spark teaches physical education now at River East, after coming over from John Pritchard in the move.

“I knew eight of the girls there who I had coached previously and they were coming over,” he said. “We knew that the girls had a lot of previous experience coming in, from playing at their respective schools to also playing club volleyball.

“We were able to get right into the action, they all knew the 5-1 system (an advanced skill formation of one setter and five hitters),” he said. “We didn’t really have to go over a whole lot in that regard so we hit the ground running pretty quickly.”

Spark attributes the team’s brilliance on the court to dedication and determination.

“The passion for the game this team has, they never missed practices, every single day they wanted to be touching a volleyball,” he said. “They have a very high drive to want to do well and succeed and they are very coachable. You tell them anything and everything and they bend over backwards to do it.”

The team now moves on to the junior varsity circuit, and Spark will be moving up with them into less frequented waters.

“The competition will definitely get tougher,” he said.