Young Drumheller volleyball players proved their mettle on the national stage, coming home with a silver and a gold medal.
The Drumheller Volleyball Club U15 Smash White Team and Blue Team competed in the 2022 Youth Nationals in Edmonton over the long weekend. The U15 White team won silver in tier 2, and the Blue Team won gold in tier 1.
“From where they started the season to where they ended up was like night and day,” said Darci Paarup, who coaches the silver medal White Team along with Nicole Wiart.
Paarup said the team played 10 matches over the weekend with teams from across the country. On the first day, they played in the preliminary pool and finished third in their pool. From there, they were tiered and played in the power pool. They finished first in the power pool and qualified for the finals on the final day. They won the semi-finals and went to the gold medal match against the Thunderbolts from B.C.
“We went to the gold medal match, and we took it to three sets, and the girls played really well,” said Paarup. “They lost the first one, and were down 10 points in the second game, but the girls were able to battle back. Then in the third set, we kind of just ran out of gas, but they fought hard right until the end.”
The U15 Blue team also had a stellar performance throughout the weekend. In fact, they were undefeated in match play through the entire tournament, only losing three games. Head Coach Audrey DeBona is proud of the team for winning gold in tier 1. Despite sweeping their way through the tournament, she said it was tough competition.
“We lost the first game of the final against Winnipeg, and we won the last game 16-14,” DeBona tells the Mail. “We had a lot of close games.”
“The 10 of them are so good we were just able to pull from the whole team to do their job.”
She said the atmosphere was phenomenal, with people packed in to watch the games. There was also lots for the players to do off the court.
“They played so well and the kids were so excited. It wasn’t a breeze, but we did win all 10 matches,” she said.
Addyson Freilinger is the captain of the Blue team. She said it was an exciting experience, especially to win it all. They also made some great connections.
“The best feeling was meeting people from other places, and not just the teams from Alberta,” said Freilinger. “There were also lots of things to do there.”
She has played volleyball for about three years, including at her school. She said the team has a strong bond.
“We became really close as a team because of all the team bonding we did. At the beginning of the year, we didn’t know each other, but then we started meshing and hanging out,” said Addyson.
Paarup sees bright things for the Drumheller Volleyball Club, with two teams making it to the top nationally.
“It’s awesome. Having a club team in Drum, let alone having four teams this year from U14 up to U18. It’s growing and the interest it has in the community is huge. The support has been unreal. For our two U15 teams to get to nationals we relied on donations and support and the community came out tenfold for the girls and they were able to go and made the most of it.”
