The Cochrane High senior volleyball teams are coming off another big weekend in zone finals and have both earned a berth into the provincials that start tomorrow (Nov. 22).

The Cochrane High senior girls volleyball team continues to be a dominant force in the South Central Zone of the Alberta Schools’ Athletics Association (ASAA) while the school’s boys team has claimed their first zone championship in 23 years.

The senior boys went undefeated in all five of their sets and they got a little redemption against the Strathmore Spartans, who beat them in the final last year.

“The boys played very well,” says Jensen. “They were really focused and everything came together at the right time.”

“It was a little bit of redemption. I know a lot of the guys on our team kept that with them as motivation throughout the year but especially during the final match [against Strathmore] on Saturday night.”

“We’ve been together for a long time and kind of preparing for this season for the last three years.

The grade 12 have really matured and have grown together as a team.”

With 12 teams qualifying, the Cobras hope to come out of the round-robin with a playoff berth.

“We set some goals and we talked about them and we’re going to revisit them today (Nov. 19) after practice. We hope to not only qualifying for the playoffs but win a match or two in the playoffs as well. Who knows, if the stars align and we play really well and get a little bit lucky we could be in the finals.”

The boys provincial is being hosted in Rocky Mountain House and the Cobras play their first game Thursday afternoon against Morinville.

In Strathmore, the senior girls' team punched their return ticket to the provincials by winning every single match in the zone championship. They now head to Beaverlodge in hopes of exchanging last year’s silver medal for gold.

The Cobras senior girls volleyball team are heading to the provincials in Beaverlodge.

Head coach Janette Solecki believes the team has a strong potential to return to the final.

“A lot of the girls are returning from last year so they experienced it and it was very, very close last year,” says Solecki.

“They’re ready to have another shot at it. With their desire and commitment and drive, I can see us getting into the finals and being very successful.”

Last year it came down to a final match against St. Joseph Catholic High School, of Grande Prairie, that went the distance.

The senior girls have had another benchmark season, winning divisionals, zones and all but one o the tournaments they entered. It’s a team, too, that has a strong core of grade 12 players.

The Cobras play their first set against Edmonton Christian tomorrow afternoon and then four more before playoffs start Saturday afternoon.