The Junior Pilots 15U Navy girls volleyball team out of Otterburne are on a roll and headed to nationals after recently finishing second overall at the 26-team provincial championships.
During the regular season, the Pilots competed at six tournaments in Manitoba and Saskatchewan from February to April. The team experienced multiple second-place finishes, a third-place finish, and a big first place finish at Volleyball Manitoba’s Premier Tournament.
The Junior Pilots are coached by Kyla and Dylan Zacharias and Heather Fast, all from Niverville.
“We love working with this group,” says Dylan Zacharias. “We started coaching the core of this team last year when they were 14U. We plan on moving up with them next year to 16U to keep on advancing their skill and hopefully competing at a high level provincially and nationally.”
The Junior Pilots 15U Navy team entered the recent provincials ranked third in Manitoba next to the Junior Bisons Gold (second place) and Winman Rage (first place). The Pilots managed to knock off Winman in three sets during the round robin, moving them to second spot overall entering playoffs.
From there, the Pilots won three playoff games to get to the provincial finals. The opening play-in match was won in two sets, advancing the team to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, the WVA Blazers battled the Junior Pilots, but the local girls once again came out on top, winning 25–16 and 25–20, advancing them to the semifinals against Winman.
The semifinals proved to be the rematch Winman was hoping for, but the Junior Pilots proved once again that they belonged in Manitoba’s championship final after winning two hard-fought sets, 25–21 and 25–23.
The Junior Pilots entered the finals against season rivals, the Junior Bisons Gold, but ultimately fell short, losing two straight sets.
The Pilots coaching staff is proud of the team for having such a strong season and putting in such a strong showing at provincials.
“This group of girls is fantastic,” says Zacharias. “We have cultivated a strong sense of community with our girls. Some live in different areas or go to different schools, but these girls make their own effort to connect as a group. We have never experienced this level of cohesiveness amongst a roster of 12 girls.”
The Junior Pilots are now headed to the national championships, which are to be held in Regina, Saskatchewan this week from May 18–21.
“As the nationals rankings are based upon provincial percentiles, the first day of the round robin is used to shuffle teams around to better fit their level of competition,” Zacharias adds. “Our goal at the nationals is to compete to be in the Top 16 in Canada.”
