There were silver medals for local beach volleyball players Olivia Barnes and Rivver Flewell at the Alberta Summer Games which were held July 26-29 in Lethbridge.
Although they struggled in the early rounds of the games they managed to pull off two key wins to get themselves into the playoffs.
They went into the playoffs ranked sixth vs. third; in the quarter finals they played Zone 5 late in the day battling +30C heat and wind.
But they found their rhythm and powered through with a hard fought two set win.
Barnes said the wind took the edge off the heat and that they had practiced in so much wind that it just felt right playing in it and that they knew how to deal with it.
Semifinals had them matched up against the second ranked team Zone 2.
Zone 2 put the pressure on them right from the start and they lost the first set late in the game 21-17.
Second set Zone 2 come out fast again but this time Barnes and Flewell were able to put the pressure back on Zone 2 and win the second set, going into the third set to 15 Barnes and Flewell took the first five points and did not look back to win the semifinal match.
Flewell said that staying with them in the first set going point for point till late in the game and that knowing that if they stayed calm and kept the pressure on them they would be successful.
The gold medal match against Zone 3 had some great rallies and digs but Barnes and Flewell came up short losing the match.
Coach Wayne Halliday said the girls struggled early in the tournament with chemistry and trust as they had not had a lot of games together as partners but they kept at it and did not get discouraged.
Once they found that trust that is needed when playing beach they just kept getting stronger and stronger and the games they lost in the round robin play turned into wins.
—Submitted