By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Spikes and serves are already flying at Davidson School as the senior girls volleyball team heads into its season.

For the second year, students from Davidson and Loreburn are joining forces on a co-op team, and manager Sandra Baldwin said she’s already impressed with what she’s seeing.

“I think it’s looking very good,” she said Thursday. “Based on the first practice, the girls look very strong.”

The team name, the Davidson/Loreburn Raitec, combines the names of the two school teams, the Davidson Raiders and the Loreburn Aztecs.

Baldwin said the team has a roster of 16 girls this year, including six from Loreburn and 10 from Davidson.

Teacher Karen McConnell and intern Hallie Vollmer are coaching the team, along with Tony Baldwin, former Davidson principal and current director of education for Prairie South School Division.

Sandra Baldwin said seven Grade 10 students joined the team this year, making up nearly half of its roster, but she added they already have plenty of experience from playing on the junior team and in club volleyball programs.

“Our focus for the next few weeks is coming together as a new group,” she said, explaining that they’ll have plenty of opportunities to do that.

The team has a solid schedule coming up, with tournaments booked every weekend until Thanksgiving.

This past weekend they were scheduled to compete in Loreburn’s RAVE (Really Amazing Volleyball Experience) senior girls tournament; details will follow in the next edition of the Leader.

On Sept. 11 and 12 they will host a home tournament in Davidson. Their first home game of the season comes on Sept. 9, when the Raitec will host Kenaston.

“We’re looking to get as much playing time for all the girls as we possibly can,” said Baldwin.

Last year the senior girls finished the season by taking bronze in 3A provincials.