The Vanier Spirits might have already earned a berth in the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association 4A girls provincial volleyball championship as tournament hosts, but they made sure to put a stamp on their spot with a win at regionals this past weekend.
The Spirits went undefeated at the six-team event at Regina Johnson to emerge as the top seed from the region -- and they’ll be joined by a team they’re very familiar with when provincials begin Friday afternoon.
That would be none other than the Central Cyclones, who had a stellar weekend of their own and reached the regional final before falling 25-19, 25-20 to Vanier..
As a result, both the Spirits and Vikings will be taking the court when the 4A girls championship takes place at Vanier and Peacock this weekend, with the first games taking place at 12 p.m. on Friday.
Vanier had little difficulty getting the job done at regionals, sweeping all four of their matches. They opened the tournament with a 25-14, 25-20 win over Regina Johnson Friday night before clinching top spot in their pool with a 25-14, 25-19 win over Regina Luther Saturday afternoon.
The semifinal was more of the same with a 24-14, 25-19 win over Lumsden, setting up the final showdown with Central for seeding purposes.
The Cyclones opened their run with a 25-22, 25-11 win over Lumsden before doing battle with the Peacock Toilers to determine the playoff qualifier in their pool. That contest was a barnburner, with Central taking a 25-20, 20-25, 15-13 victory.
Thanks to Vanier qualifying for the playoffs, the other three teams earned automatic provincial berths, meaning the playoff round was just for seeding. Central picked up the second seed with a 25-16, 25-22 win over Regina Luther.
Peacock also had a tough loss in their other round robin contest, falling 19-25, 25-10, 15-12 to Lumsden.
Vanier, Central, Lumsden and Regina Luther all booked provincial berths. They’ll be joined by Martensville, North Battleford John Paul II and Meadow Lake from the regional playdown in Martensville as well as Nipawin, Melville and Humbolft from regionals in Nipawin.
The provincial draw will be released on Monday afternoon, and you can find it at www.shsaa.ca.
Things didn’t go as well for the Briercrest Christian School Cougars and Cornerstone Christian School Falcons on their respective 3A and 2A girls regionals.
Briercrest lost 25-22, 25-19 to Lanigan and 25-16, 25-23 to Maidstone to miss the 3A girls playoffs in Lanigan.
Cornerstone went unbeaten in their round robin matches at the 2A regional in Kenaston, winning 25-18, 25-18 over Raymore and 25-18, 25-17 over Kenaston to reach the playoff round. There, they’d drop a heartbreaker to Davidson, falling 25-16, 25-27, 15-12 to miss provincials by a single win.
The senior boys regional championships all take place during the Nov. 17 weekend.
Prior to provincials, there’s the Moose Jaw High School Athletic Association city championships to deal with, as Vanier takes on Peacock for the title on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Sask Polytech.
The boys championship game between Central and the Assiniboia Rockets takes place Wednesday night, also at 7 p.m. at Sask Polytech.
