ESTEVAN - The Estevan Comprehensive School Elecs senior boys' volleyball team wasn't supposed to host a tournament this early in the season, but they did, and they had a great result.
ECS went undefeated in seven games to finish first in the competition, which was held Friday and Saturday at the school's gymnasium. They opened with a victory over the Elecs' junior boys team, and the senior boys rattled off wins over Oxbow Prairie Horizons School, Yorkton Regional High School, Rouleau and Fox Valley.
The senior boys defeated Oxbow in the semifinal round, and then they knocked off Rouleau 2-0 (25-23, 25-21) in the final.
"The players brought lots of energy and they were good teammates to each other," said coach Braden MacLean. "Overall their serving was pretty good."
MacLean said there is still work to be done as far as hitting and defensive positioning.
The senior boys will have at least four players back from last year's team that went to provincials. All of the returnees are in Grade 12. They also have some good talent from the younger grades.
"We feel we're going to have a very good season. We're very excited by the group of boys that we have," said MacLean. "They're all great kids, they're all very athletic and they all have positive attitudes."
He was also pleased with the play of the junior boys, who faced players that are older and further along in their development. MacLean pointed out the junior boys won four sets during the tournament and lost in the quarter-finals to Fox Valley.
"The juniors also have a promising season ahead of them. They were a junior team playing in a senior tournament, and they had a really positive weekend as well."
The tournament was supposed to be in Weyburn, but that school's team wasn't ready to host this weekend, so Estevan stepped in and gave the teams a chance for some early-season competition.
The senior boys will host another tournament on Sept. 22 and 23. MacLean expects it will be a completely different contingent of teams, but a similar level of competition. Then they will head to Swift Current for a tournament the following weekend.
