All four William E. Hay volleyball teams are in action this week to kick off the high school season.
The Stettler Wildcats are represented with senior and junior varsity (JV) clubs in boys’ and girls’ divisions.
“Our school is very happy and excited to field four teams, in light of the fact that several 3A schools in Alberta aren’t able to play four teams,” said athletic director Warren Aspenes.
Play began Tuesday for Stettler’s girls, with both the senior and JV Wildcats scheduled to play at Camrose (after press time).
Today, the senior boys visit Camrose.
The JV Wildcats will have to wait a week for their first league game, Sept. 23 at Rocky Mountain House, but they’re off to Calgary on Friday for a weekend tournament, as are the JV girls.
The senior and JV boys play their home-opener on Sept. 25 against Lacombe.
The girls’ home-opening action is Sept. 24 against HJ Cody of Sylvan Lake.
The senior boys and girls play in the Ardrossan tournament this weekend.
Each of the four Stettler coaches commented on their outlook for this season:
Senior boys
“I think our team will be good this year,” Jefferson McClung said.
“We have strong setters and strong hitters. Our team supports each other, which is great for the team atmosphere. If we keep strong team dynamics, we should have a great year.”
Senior girls
“We have a lot of returning players,” Rachelle Campeau said. “After the first week of practice, our team is looking quite strong. It should be a good season.”
JV boys
“We are excited and looking forward to the season ahead,” Brady Armstrong said. “We all feel we have lots of potential and great team chemistry. Our first tournament is in Calgary, and will be an exciting test come (this) Friday. All in all, we are excited to see what is in store for us this year.”
JV girls
“Our main focus is on skills, for our fairly young team,” Corinne Stephenson said. “Practices have been good.”
SENIOR BOYS
Aaron Lee
Braden Deagle
Brent Schweer
Cole Bailey
Jade Chapman
Jordan Bauman
Jordan Smyth
Justin Dadensky
Tristan Laughlin
Coaches: Jefferson McClung and James Choi.
SENIOR GIRLS
Abby Tizzard
Allison Cassidy
Bailey Steinhoff
Carly Armstrong
Jamie Ternes
Jessica Nelson
Katie Monaghan
Kennidy Fisher
Morgan VanDusen
Toni-Lynn Ganser
Trya Ganser
Coaches: Rachelle Campeau and Michele Brule (former Wildcat).
JV BOYS
Adam Pitzel
John Langford
Jordan Lee
Kyle Poapst
Paul Georget
Schubert Hernando
Thomas Gustavson
Will Roberts
Zack Werbowesky
Coaches: Brady Armstrong and Derrick Hatch.
JV GIRLS
Ryah Auton
Brooke Clark
Makayla Enns
Alyssa Henderson
Caela Henderson
Skylar Kirkness
Nikyta Lachowsky
Ally Marshall
Shayla McLean
Ashley Sukkua
Emily Wright
Olivia Zuk
Coaches: Corinne Stephenson and Alicia Kneeland.
— High School Report