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The Parkland Vipers 14U volleyball team is back home.

They ended their season over the weekend at the national championships, hosted at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg. In round-robin play, the Vipers won one of three matches. Against the Canuck Stuff Volleyball Club, the Vipers fell short, 21-25, 21-25. The Lightning Bolts out of Saskatchewan got the best of the Vipers in straight sets. 

The Vipers rounded out pool play with an impressive victory against the Westman Wave, 25-18, 26-24. 

Moving into a power pool for day two of the competition, the Vipers caught fire. They opened with a straight set win over the Fernie Volleyball Club, 25-19, 25-21. They then downed the Aces Calgary Black in straight sets, 25-22, 25-16.

They ended power pool play with an outstanding effort against the Bandits Volleyball Club. It was another straight-set performance, 25-16, 25-23.

Chris Wolfenden is the team's head coach.

"That was the best we have ever played as a team, like ever," offered Wolfenden. "We jumped two tiers within the tournament. That was fantastic."

After a flawless second day, the Vipers surged into the Tier 3 playoffs. They went toe-to-toe with the WinMan Waves, trading sets to force a thrilling decider. Up 10-8 in the third, the Vipers looked poised for the semifinals.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be for the Vipers. The Waves scored seven straight points to down the Vipers in the deciding set, 15-10. It wasn't the end the team was hoping for, but the team can use that experience to grow.

"Absolutely. For our entire team, this is the first time they've dipped their feet into the fire. That's the only way to learn from those emotions, to be in those situations," commented Wolfenden. "It was difficult to watch happen. At the same time, we will use it as a building block and move forward."

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The 14U team finished their first national tournament with four wins. It was a special group that, throughout the season, always had the spotlight on them. Even when they weren't winning, which didn't happen often, other teams were taking notice of the Vipers.

"A lot of the other teams look at us and tell us we're having fun all the time. That's a big part of the process at this age," continued Wolfenden. "We're also very competitive, which is great. To have fun and want to make yourself better all the time, we're lucky to have a group of girls that want both."

A season to remember. The Vipers finished with a record of 37-17-4. They finished the provincial tournament seventh out of 37 Manitoba teams and inside the top 25 of 106 teams competing at the national tournament. 

"We won a lot this year. We always had a chance to win going into our matches, which is great. We had the skill and drive," ended Wolfenden. "Finishing in the top seven out of Manitoba teams is a big accomplishment. We weren't happy with our showing at the provincial championships, so it was nice to end out so strong."