The Estevan Comprehensive School senior boys' volleyball team had a rough time at the 5A provincial championship in Prince Albert on the weekend.
The Elecs posted an 0-4 record in their pool and missed out on the playoffs. But the Elecs showed signs of something more, taking three of the four matches to three sets, and winning the first set in all three of them.
ECS began against the second-ranked St. Mary High School from Prince Albert, the two-time defending provincial champions.
The Elecs won the first set 25-23 and lost the second, 25-12, to set up a decisive third set that needed extra points to decide.
St. Mary eventually pulled out a 31-29 victory in the third set to win the match. The Prince Albert school would go on to win its third straight provincial title, defeating North Battleford 25-18, 25-20 in the final.
"It was a big letdown, especially after the way we played in our first match," said ECS coach Nathan Johnson. "It was by far our best match of the year. We were very close to beating the top team in the province and that success didn't transfer into our last few games. That was as good as we've played all year."
The final set was agonizingly close, with the Elecs leading 24-22 and 29-28 at various points but unable to put them away.
"I was hoping it would give us confidence that we could play at that level, but it actually worked the opposite. I think we got overconfident and decided we didn't have to play as hard anymore," Johnson said.
In their second game, the Elecs won the first set 25-20 against Regina Balfour before losing the next two, 25-14, 25-17.
The team's third game was a 25-19, 25-21 loss to fourth-ranked Saskatoon St. Joseph. Finally, the Elecs faced 10th-ranked Weyburn, their best chance for a victory. Things started well with a 25-22 victory in the first set, but Weyburn would rally to take the last two sets 25-17, 25-20.
Still, Johnson said he wasn't particularly happy with his team's play the rest of the tournament.
"Neither first set win was because we played very well," he said.
It was a season that saw the Elecs show sparks of brilliance but they failed to produce that form all the time.
"I think it was an inconsistent season. It seemed that anytime we were able to embrace the underdog role, we competed well," Johnson said. "Any time we thought, 'We're better than this team,' we got overconfident."
The Elecs are losing four Grade 12 players to graduation but Johnson has high hopes for the eight players coming back.
"We've got a real solid core coming back. We can fill all six spots from the guys we have coming back. We don't have to fill any holes with new guys. I'm very, very optimistic about next year."
