They entered provincials in Winnipeg this past weekend with high hopes, but in the end the Parkland Vipers 13U girls volleyball team had to settle for a 13th place finish out of 32 teams.

The Vipers opened the tournament with a 25-19 and 25-16 win over the Winnipeg Bandits and followed up with a 25-22 and 25-16 win over Brandon Volleyball Club.

A 15-25, 25-19 and 10-15 loss to Winman of Winnipeg left the Vipers in a three-way tie for first place in their pool, with Parkland claiming first place after the tie-breaker.

Parkland began the playoffs with a 25-12 and 25-12 win over Interlake.

A 25-27, 25-14 and 15-17 loss to Taika of Steinbach knocked the Vipers out of the top eight.

After a 14-25, 25-14 and 10-15 loss to Skyline of Winnipeg, the Vipers beat Brandon once again, 22-25, 25-23 and 15-10 to finish 13th.

Vipers assistant coach Ted Rea felt it was a disappointing result, given how well the team has played prior to provincials.

“The team that we had to play to get into the top eight was a team that had basically played 14U teams all season. So they were ranked 17th, but really they should have been ranked four, five or six. They were a pretty good team,” he said.

The teams which finished second and third in Parkland’s pool had an easier route to the top eight than the Vipers.

“So it was kind of a disappointment as far as we had to beat that team and  we ended up losing the third game 15-17,” Rea said.

“We had a chance to win a couple of times, but just couldn’t do it.”

Overall, the Vipers completed one goal on the first day of provincials by finishing first in their pool.

“And on the last day, when we could have folded our tents and gone home with our tails between our legs, the girls played with some pride and we ended up winning our last two matches on Sunday to finish 13th out of 32,” Rea added.

Looking back at the season, Rea feels the Vipers had a great season. Out of the five tournaments in which they competed, the worst they finished was fourth.

“Which is fantastic. We were right there with the teams like Winman, who ended up second in our pool. That team ended up losing in the finals to Bisons Gold,” he said.

“We had a pretty strong pool, I think, and the other two teams stayed on the A-side of the tournament. We can’t complain. I think the girls did improve and we’re looking forward to 14U next year.”

Rea wishes to thank the parents for their support over the course of the season and his son Sean, who served as head coach.