The Vanier Vikings senior boys volleyball team were city and provincial champions in 2018, but that meant little when the first ball was served last night in the first game of the 2019 season.

The Vikings learned some lessons as they squeaked out a five set victory over the Avonlea Eagles last night. They won 3-2 (25-21, 8-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-12) in the first matches of the season in the league.

“All of our prep this week has just been on basics,” said Vikings head coach Broda. “Not too much on game play, and just trying to get the kids used to each other, and being in the right spot on the court. First match of the season, there’s going to be lots of errors, which we had today.”

It's still very early in the school year, but Broda said his team has a few returning players from last year's provincial champions.

“That’s a huge work in progress, is the guys now understanding that they might be struggling but they’re going to stay out there,” Broda said. “They’re the guys that the younger ones look up to and they have to go through their list to elevate their play when the team is brought down.”

Avonlea presented a strong challenge, with three big players at the net able to seemingly kill at will against the Vikings.

“A game like (Tuesday) is going to serve us really well against any other team that we play,” Broda said. “There was a lot of pressure in every set, and any game that we play in the league is going to have a lot of pressure.”

The senior high school volleyball season tips off tonight for teams at two locations the city.

The B.C.A. Cougars are at Peacock, with the boys at 6:20 p.m. and the girls at 8 p.m.

Also, the Central Cyclones travel to Cornerstone to take on the Falcons. The boys play at 6:20 p.m. and the girls are at 8 p.m.