Holly Miyasaki , Fort McMurray TODAY

Thursday Feb. 18, 2010: The Keyano College Huskies women’s volleyball team knew going into their weekend tournament that the competition was already suffering a difficult season The weekend saw both the men’s and women’s volleyball teams compete at the Alberta College Athletic Conference play – with completely different results.

The women took home the win and continue on the road to the provincials with a qualifier at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology; and they look at it as a chance to make up for last year. “Last year we had our qualifier against SAIT (Trojans) as well and we lost, so this is sort of a redemption-type weekend for us” said Coach Melissa Laluk. “We have the opportunity to be in the same place again and finish differently.”

The tournament saw Keyano deafest the Lethbridge College Kodiaks (29-27, 25-18, 15-25, 25-22), pushing them into the qualification round this weekend in Calgary. Initially Laluk was surprised at Lethbridge’s performance. "I guess I was a little bit surprised – Lethbridge’s team is a very athletic and bigger,” she explained. “I kind of expected a little bit more from them...for us that was good because we were able to focus on our own game because they weren’t challenging us as much as we hoped.”

Left side Stephanie Jackson said the team improved as the weekend progressed. “The second day was definitely better,” said the 5-foot-9 player who hails from Edmonton. “We played better, more aggressive; we had smarter shots and less errors.” Like her coach, she hopes this weekend will play out different from the last time the team met up with the Trojans in a bid to move on to provincials. “We lost two in a row last time, so it was really brutal that we didn’t get a win,” lamented the left-side. “Right now we want to almost redeem ourselves and take the win this weekend.”

This is Jacksons’s last year with the team as she graduates at the end of the school year, and she hopes to see the Huskies make it to provincials. “It’s my last shot at a provincial championship,” she said. “I’d like to have a shot at that opportunity, and I can’t believe I’m graduating...it’s nice to go out with a bang.”

On the men’s side, the ACAC play turned out very differently for the Huskies team. “We knew they ere going to be a tough team,” said men’s coach Konrad Plante. “They were an experienced, talented, well-coached team...at the end of the day, Lethbridge was that much better and more experienced and won the game Friday night.”

On Saturday, Keyano tried to battle back, but lost in the fifth set, despite having the opportunity to take the lead and win. Their scores over the weekend told the story of a number of close matches: 25-22, 21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 11-15. But Plante only has positive things to say about their opponents. “That’s a good team," he said. “Of all the south teams we played, (Lethbridge) was probably the strongest.”

His team, which he felt wasn’t experienced enough to take the win, displayed growth and mental toughness as the season progressed. Now they wait. “Our job now is to take a little time off and prepare for the junior season.”

The Keyano College Huskies women’s volleyball team leaves for Calgary today for their provincial qualifying game against SAIT at 3 p.m. tomorrow. They play again at 6 p.m. on Saturday and if they do well, they will play on Sunday. If they win, they will move forward to the provincial championships held in Edmonton.

The Huskies completed the diivison with 23 games won and 30 lost. The Trojans finished with 12 games won and 23 lost.

Stephanie Jackson "It's nice to go out with a bang!"

Photo courtesy of Dan Lines