All the waiting and preparation is about to come to an end for 10 of the best 4A girls high school volleyball teams in the province.
And if everything goes according to plan, two Moose Jaw teams will be right in the thick of things when the tournament begins at Vanier and Peacock on Friday afternoon.
The Spirits -- who won the Moose Jaw high school city championship on Tuesday night -- enter the tournament as the top seed in Pool A and play their first round-robin game at 12 p.m. against Melville. The best-of-three sets format will make for a rapid-fire tournament, with Vanier back on the court at 2 p.m. against Lumsden and again at 5 p.m. when they take on Humboldt. All their games are being played at Vanier Collegiate.
Vanier then wraps up the preliminary round at 10 a.m. on Saturday when they take on Martensville.
The Central Cyclones enter the event as the third seed in Pool B and will play their three matches Friday at Peacock. Their first game is against Nipawin at 12 p.m., followed by Regina Luther at 3 p.m. and North Battleford John Paul II at 6 p.m. Central then closes out the round robin at 11 a.m. Saturday when they face Meadow Lake.
The top four teams from each pool advance to the playoffs, with the quarter-finals at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. followed by the semifinals at 3 p.m.
The semifinal losers will play for bronze at 4:30 p.m. at Vanier, followed by the gold medal game at 5:30 p.m.
Be sure to check out www.shsaa.ca for up-to-date scores from throughout the weekend.
The 4A boys regional volleyball championship will be taking place in Lumsden and featuring three Moose Jaw teams in the Central Cyclones, Peacock Toilers and Vanier Vikings.
Teams will play a six-team round robin, with the top three teams advancing to provincials in Melfort during the Nov. 18 weekend.
The defending 3A boys champion and Moose Jaw league finalist Assiniboia Rockets will host their six-team regional and will play in a pool with Clavet and Biggar.
Unity, Outlook and Shaunavon will play in Pool B, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the playoffs. Unity is also the provincial host and three teams advance to provincials, meaning should Unity reach the playoffs, the other three playoff teams will automatically earn provincial berths.
The Cornerstone Christian School Falcons will see action in the 2A boys regional in Pontiex and will take on Kincaid and Lucky Lake in their pool. LCBI, Harvest City and provincial host Pontiex will make up the other pool, with three teams advancing to provincials.
