Spartans vie for rare third straight title

Jackson Burgess and the Neelin Spartans had their roles figured out and they were rolling.

Until everything changed at the turn of an ankle. And another. And a knee to boot.

The Spartans varsity boys volleyball team of 10 players was trying to qualify for provincials with as few as seven active players.

But they’ve adjusted, adapted, and overcome the necessary hurdles to not only reach the AAA varsity boys’ championship starting Thursday but also secure a spot in the top power pool.

“I’m excited. I’m really hoping we play as a team one last time,” said Burgess, one of the guys who changed roles mid-season when the injuries hit.

“I’m pretty impressed. I’m glad we have other people that can play other positions, and I’m proud of that.”

Burgess was Neelin’s starting libero at the beginning of the year, but when outside hitter Case Ashcroft went down with a fractured right ankle during the Spartan Dig tournament, he took over.

The six-foot Grade 11 prefers the libero role but has played outside hitter before and has certainly proven capable of being more than just a solid passer who tries to keep the ball in play.

“I’m a role player, I’ll do what I need to do to fill in,” Burgess said.

“(Head coach) Jake (Thomson) usually tells me to swing away. I’m a big power hitter, he says.”

The Spartans are chasing their third straight AAA provincial crown, something no school has done since the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association split into four classifications. They also went back-to-back in 2016 and 2017, when Thomson was a player.

He assistant coached the Spartans last year when they beat the Garden Valley Zodiacs in an exciting three-set gold-medal match, and hopes to make another run with an almost completely different lineup.

Thomson has had to adjust significantly due to injuries to Ashcroft, middle blocker Sam Rempel, and setter Griffin Hargreaves, but the team has powered through.

“Obviously the connection with my family and the school goes pretty far, and with the group in particular, they’re a pretty resilient group, playing with six, seven guys at a couple of tournaments this year,” Thomson said.

“I didn’t expect to have the amount of injuries we did, but this group stayed strong, played through it and couldn’t be more proud, regardless of what happens this weekend.”

The Spartans opened the season with a sixth-place finish at the Brandon University tournament, then fell 2-1 to the River East Kodiaks in the final of Vincent Massey’s Viking Classic.

They lost to the Zodiacs in the Nighthawks Invitational final, and also finished second at Selkirk’s Royals Spike-Off, meeting the Steinbach Sabres, the No. 2-ranked AAAA team, in the final.

The Spartan Dig is where the season took two bad turns when Ashcroft and Rempel went down. Neelin reached the top of three 16-team brackets but immediately fell to the B-side and settled for ninth place.

It won Dauphin’s tournament three weeks ago, beating the host Clippers in the final, then knocked them off again in their interzone qualifier on home court.

Their success required Burgess stepping up, backup libero Eric Charbonneau stepping in and opposite Aiden Garbutt shifting to the middle while Rempel was out.

“I couldn’t be more proud,” Thomson said. “There’s no conflict or battle with any of these guys. They’re willing to do whatever for the betterment of the team. As a coach, couldn’t ask for anything more. They show up every day, smile on their face, ready to work.”

The Spartans finished first in the city league regular season but lost the championship series 2-0 to the Vikings.

Now they’re set to face the top-ranked Louis-Riel Voyageurs Thursday at 10:10 a.m., the Zodiacs at 11:20 a.m., and the Linden Christian Wings at 1:40 p.m. All three matches are at Winnipeg’s Southeast Collegiate.

Neelin will have a bye to Friday’s quarterfinals. The championship match is Saturday at 2:15 p.m.

Since Thursday’s results only matter for seeding, some teams may strategize and rest players to stay fresher at the end of the three-day event.

“I wish I could say we could hide our cards a little bit, but … we don’t really have the numbers or staff to do so,” Thomson said.

“I know with this group in particular, they’re going to work as hard as they can on every point and we’ve got to become a little more scrappy of a team to hang with some of those higher seeds.”

Added Burgess: “I really want us to have some high energy and good communication, I think that’s our best part. Our offence is amazing.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Instagram: @thomasfriesen5