Marauders and Crusaders to Face Off in Sr. A Town Girls’ Championship
The biggest Sr. A women’s volleyball game for the Carlton Crusaders and St. Mary Marauders is almost here, and it’s been two years in the making. The city’s annual championship game between these two teams is set to begin on Wednesday night. Although the two teams have competed in several tournaments so far this season, the atmosphere is different, knowing that there is a chance to brag about their rivals on the other side of town.
For Marauders coach Shaun Hunko, he knows what the stakes are, and his message to his team is to enjoy the unique experience.
“It’s a game like no other that we’ve played all season, in the sense that the crowd is a lot more rowdy than you normally would be,” said Hunko. “It’s been a few years now since we’ve played this game, so we’re going to appreciate the opportunity to play, have fun and play hard.”
With COVID playing the spoiler in last year’s game, preventing teams from being able to play at all, Hunko explained the adjustments he had to make as a coach to build a squad this year.
“This whole year has been very busy, just because it has been a radical change for all of us,” he said. “It took a few weeks to get used to it again, and it was difficult for the players as well. They are not used to training every day and having games every weekend. It was an adjustment for everyone.
Only two Marauders squad players return from the 2019 squad (McKenna Schrader and Shelaine Pritchard), and when asked how they’ve come out as team leaders this season, Hunko says they have been excellent mentors and leaders. their team all season.
“We’re a pretty young team, even with these two coming back. But they did a great job of leadership. I couldn’t ask for more from these two.
Throughout training this week, Hunko spoke about how high his team’s morale is ahead of Wednesday’s game.
“They are very motivated. It’s a group that has a very high ceiling, and they understand that. Every week we keep improving more and more. They are very motivated, and although our roster has so many new players, they really want to train hard and learn as much as they can.
Wednesday night’s game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
