SRSS Sabres boys volleyball aiming high this season

The Steinbach Regional Secondary School Sabres varsity boys volleyball team is looking to make some noise in the Manitoba High School Athletic Association this season.

Head coach Kyle Martens has brought a massive roster into the season, boasting 19 players for a large bench presence.

“It’s a lot to manage in practice, keeping everyone busy and working and developing,” Martens said after a straight sets victory over Louis-Riel Oct. 7 at SRSS.

“We’re a school program, we feel if we can develop guys, then why not. The skill is there, so that’s been good, we’ve got a lot of depth.”

The Sabres were ranked fourth in the province in the Oct. 12th Manitoba High School Athletic Association power rankings.

The team fell in the semi-finals at a recent high-profile tournament in St Paul’s to Selkirk. They dropped their first league game of the season at Jeanne-Sauvé, with Martens noting the team’s blocking was a weakness.

That certainly wasn’t the case against Louis Riel, with the Sabres dominating at the point of attack, only conceding 13, 10 and 16 points in the three-set victory.

“When you have this many guys we’re rotating through, it’s hard to get momentum and rhythm with the same guys that we’re rotating through it’s hard to get momentum,” Martens said.

“When we’re playing with different guys every single night in line-ups it’s a little hard to build that chemistry.”

The team is building chemistry, as shown during the Louis-Riel game when Jackson Schroeder stepped into the rotation, much to the delight of his teammates. Schroeder is normally a libero, a defensive specialist who is restricted from setting or attacking the ball, but Martens put him in as a left side, with his teammates celebrating a kill with gusto.

“He doesn’t really get to swing anymore,” Martens said with a chuckle.

“I’m a former libero, so I have a heart for that and thought I’d give him a chance to swing a little bit… It was cool to have something the guys rallied around and brought some energy.”

That large roster has benefits in practice as well.

“The depth, the level we play at practice, the intensity in scrimmages, is probably higher than most teams in the province,” Martens said when asked what the Sabres’ strength is this season.

“That gives us some options as coaches.”

Martens said the goal is to be a top four program in the province and play at the provincial semi-finals in the University of Manitoba.