Wildcard Spartans chase provincial gold

The Neelin Spartans’ entire season of success came down to one do-or-die match this week.

The No. 2-ranked AAA junior varsity girls’ volleyball team drew the unenviable task of trying to win a provincial qualifier including the top three squads on Saturday.

They lost a four-set semifinal to the Dauphin Clippers, forcing them into a wildcard match on Monday. They swept the College Béliveau Barracudas to punch their ticket and will compete for a championship starting today in Swan River.

“We were scared, but we knew we could beat that team, so we went in with full confidence,” said setter Josee Martine.

The Spartans started the season with some competitive matches against ranked AAAA teams at the Mennonite Brethren tournament, then finished sixth at the Southeast Spike in Niverville.

They went undefeated to win the Nighthawks Invitational in Winkler, then beat a few AAAA clubs to place 10th of 16 at the HK Memorial in Steinbach.

Neelin reached the final of the JV Viking Classic.

It also went 3-1 in city league play to earn the top seed before narrowly losing the best-of-three final. The Spartans led 8-1 in the fifth set of the third match before the Vincent Massey Vikings fought back to steal it.

Overall, outside hitter Praise Samson said it’s been a great few months as a team.

“I like the group of people we have this year. I feel like I’ve gotten to know everybody on and off the court. We’re all friends, not just on the court but everywhere,” Samson said, adding her team’s reverse sweep in Match 2 of the city final was a massive highlight.

“We were down by so much, but we talked about it before how we really wanted this. We all fought really hard to come back.

“We can compete with any team, it doesn’t matter how good, what they’re ranked or what (level) they are. We can go out and play with them.”

Samson typically leads the team offensively, though Neelin is at its best when its middle blockers are heavily featured in the offence. That depends on strong passing to put Martine in spots to feed sophomore J.J. Pinard and freshman Jayda Davidson.

“(Pinard) just fixes everything, and she’s there for everything. If I’m off the net, she knows what to run,” Martine said.

“They are aware of what they’re running, they’re smart and they fix every set.”

The Spartans are in the top power pool, facing the Clippers today at 12:10 p.m., and the No. 1-seed Virden Golden Bears at 2:20 p.m. They round out pool play against the Linden Christian Wings on Friday at 2:25 p.m.

They have a bye to Saturday morning’s quarterfinals. The final is set for Saturday at 5:45 p.m.

For Samson, the team’s success depends on its effort.

“When we’re playing really well,” Samson said, “we all hustle for the ball, and no one lets it drop.”

Neelin’s JV boys are off to Neepawa for provincials today. Varsity provincials at the A, AA, and AAA levels run next week.

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