The Drumheller Valley Secondary School (DVSS) senior Dynos girls volleyball team is setting up for a big season this year and are hoping to serve up some big wins.
    The season started Wednesday evening in the DVSS gym against Trochu.
    The Dynos dominated against Trochu, winning two games straight. The Dynos serves were spot on, they dug for the ball, they spiked the ball where the Trochu squad didn’t expect, and they were a like a brick wall at the net.
    In the first game the Dynos won 25-17 and in the second, 25-18.
    The Dynos have been hard at work since the beginning of the school year. Inevitably the team roster changes year to year, owing to players graduating from high school. Last year, a few members of the team moved on. This year, a few new players have joined the team.
    “A few girls graduated last year, so it’s definitely a building team. There are some newbies on the team and there are five grade 12’s this year, out of 13 players. They’re looking pretty good so far,” said Sullivan.
    The volleyball season consists of eight games of round robin play and playoffs. The DVSS senior girls have also signed up for six tournaments this year. The team is already heading off to a tournament this weekend in Calgary.
     The girls will be up against 15 other teams this weekend at a tournament being hosted by the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).
    “There will for sure  be some city teams. It’ll give us a good understanding  about where we fit in with 2A and 3A teams in terms of possibilities for the season, but it’s still pretty early to know for sure,” said Sullivan.
    Sullivan went on to add the SAIT tournament will be a good opportunity for the girls to show their skills for the coaches of the SAIT volleyball team.
    The season is barely underway and its already shaping up to be busy for the girls. The team is optimistic about the upcoming year.

The DVSS senior girls volleyball team is gearing up for a great season.
The team won its first home game on Wednesday against Trochu
in the DVSS gym and will be heading to Calgary this weekend for a tournament.
The team includes (back, l-r) Brigitte Doolittle, Brenna Grieve,
Raine McDougald, Bonnie Courtenay, Becky Gough,
Allyson Campbell, Kendra Schmidt, Madison Colberg,
Mikayla Britton, Shae-Lynn Skytt, (front) Shae Mirbach,
coach Dawn Sullivan, Leah Neuman, and (missing) Zaynah Chomos.

    The senior Titans continue their march through season, this time trampling Bow Valley School of Canmore.
    The senior Titan held their home opener last Saturday against Canmore in league play. The result left little doubt as to what team is holding the balance of power in the league. The Titans led the way, tripling Canmore’s output in the 57-19 win.
    “We had great success everywhere today,” said head coach Ken Fournier.
    He said Canmore was stopping their bread and butter handoffs, but the Titans were able to adapt.
    “We were able to get the ball to our slot back Gage Berdahl and he probably had 150 yards,” said Fournier.
    He also said quarterback Steven Roberson had some impressive carries. Josh Weeteringen had two touchdowns and Spencer Fournier had three touchdowns, making 10 already this season.
    “Our offence looked great. Being able to pass the ball really opens up what we can do going down the field, and having everything working, right from our linemen to the slot back is key to us moving the ball and keeping teams guessing what we are doing,” said Fournier.
    Canmore was able to put a few points on the board, and part of that was defensive lapses.
    “Early in the game we were caught watching, it is not an excuse, but it was an eye opener for our guys. It was the perfect situation for us to battle back,” said Fournier. 
    He was also not happy about a late kick return in the fourth quarter that went uncontested.
    “Those are things that no coach likes. You do not like to see a return for a touchdown. If a guy is untouched and he just runs down the sideline, there’s something wrong,” said Fournier.
    “I think by that point in the game they were playing a little over confident because we were up by three or four touchdowns and we let Canmore sneak back in a bit.”
    Another aspect of the game was discipline.  Untimely penalties hurt the Titans.
    “Defense took some really bad ones and that allowed them to continue their drives,” said Fournier.
    He said Bow Valley was able to extend two of their scoring drivers because of penalties.
    The team has their hands full this Friday as they travel to one of southern Alberta’s football hotbeds. They will be taking on the Cardston Cougars under the lights.    
    “The excitement around that game is they have a really unique environment on their game nights,” said Fournier.  “It is probably one of the best places to play in Alberta, they love their ball down there. When the coaches were planning, it was our choice to go there because we want to play in front of a big crowd in a hostile environment. If we do go to provincials this year we want to have that big game under our belt so we aren’t shell-shocked going to someone else’s house.”