Swift Current Comp were host to some of the best boys volleyball teams in the province when they held the SHSAA 5A boys’ championships on Nov 20 & 21. Ten teams gathered from all over the province to compete. After a great opening ceremony, the matches started Friday at noon and finished with the championship on Saturday night. The Colts were placed in Pool A and got off to a good start on Friday winning all three of their matches before the enthusiastic fans. They defeated Weyburn 2-0, PA Carlton 2-1 and Regina Winston Knoll 2-0. Saturday morning the Colts faced off against the other undefeated team, Saskatoon Centennial, for first place in the pool. The Colts dropped both sets so finished 2nd in Pool A. In the quarter finals, the Colts came up against the 3rd place team in Pool B – Regina Campbell. The Colts came up short losing by scores of 25-15, 25-20. The semi finals saw PA St. Mary defeated Regina Campbell 25-16, 25-15. The other semi saw Saskatoon Centennial over Weyburn 25-13, 25-18. The bronze medal was won by Regina Campbell (over Weyburn) while the gold medal was won PA St Mary over Centennial 25-18, 25-21. The St Mary team never lost a set the entire weekend! Congratulations to Swift Current Comp staff, students, parents and volunteers. Special thanks to Coach Dan Andrie and commissioner Adam Jackson. It was a great weekend of volleyball and Swift Current did a fantastic job of hosting!
SWAC had two girls’ teams attending provincials on Nov 20 & 21. The Frontier Raiders attended the 1A girls’ championship in Medstead/Spiritwood. The Raiders got off to a tough start losing to Medstead (2-0), Rose Valley (2-0) and Saskatoon Legacy Christian (2-0). But they ended their season on a high note by defeating Whitebear 2-0. Congrats to the Raiders and their coaches Tanya Turner and Jaimie Nelson on a great season.
The Swift Current Ardens participated in the 5A girls’ championship in Martensville on the same weekend. The Ardens had a record of 2-2 after round robin play and finished 3rd in their pool. They had wins over Regina Luther (2-0) and Saskatoon Holy Cross (2-0) and losses to PA St. Mary (2-0) and Weyburn (2-0). The girls faced the tough 2nd place team from pool B Balgonie in the cross over quarter final and came up short losing 25-14, 25-12. Congrats to the Ardens and their coach Chelsea Hassett and Carlina Hapke on a great season.
We had a number of boys’ teams taking part in SHSAA regional volleyball action as well. We had 3 teams capture regional titles and will now have 4 teams advancing to provincials on Nov. 27 & 28. At the 1A boys regional in Avonlea, the Vanguard Valkyrs went undefeated to capture the regional title. The Valkrys finished first in their pool with victories over Rouleau 2-0 and Mossbank 2-0. They then played Glentworth in the semi and won 25-7, 25-9 to advance to the final against the host Avonlea. The Vanguard boys had a tough battle but came out with a 25-19, 29-27 victory to win the regional title and advance to provincials in Annaheim. Congrats to the Valkyrs and their coach Rob Englot! Eastend boys also played at Avonlea but lost in their pool to Glentworth (2-0) and Avonlea (2-0).
We had three teams take part in the 2A regional at Beechy. Congrats to the Fox Valley Legends and their coach Darren Lehmann on winning the title! The Legends beat Eston (2-0) and Beechy (2-0) to finish first in their pool. Meanwhile, the Frontier Raiders finished second in their pool with wins over Ponteix (2-0) and Davidson (2-0) but lost to Kincaid/College Mathieu (2-1). This created an all SW match up in the semi as Fox Valley took on Frontier. The Legends prevailed by scores of 25-13, 25-10 to advance to the final against Kincaid/College Mathieu. The final went to 3 but the Legends came through in the third set to win the title (25-23, 20-25, 25-17). Meanwhile Frontier still had a chance to qualify for provincials if they placed third. The Raiders took on Eston and won by scores of 27-25, 25-11. So now Fox Valley and Frontier will advance to 2A provincials at College Mathieu next weekend. The Ponteix team also took part and had a record of 1-2. They had a win over Davidson 2-1 but lost to Frontier 2-0 and Kincaid/College Mathieu 2-0 to end their season.
In 3A boys, Leader travelled to Moose Jaw to compete. The Saints beat Strasbourg 2-0 but lost to Moose Jaw Cornerstone 2-0. By finishing second in their pool, the Saints had to take on 1st place Gravelbourg in the semi. They had a great match but lost 2-1 losing 25-21 in the 3rd set to finish their season.
Shaunavon Shadows hosted the 4A boys regional on Nov. 21. Congrats to the Shadows and their coach Riley Zielke as they captured the regional title and will now advance to La Loche for the provincial tournament! In pool play, the Shadows defeated Outlook 2-1 and Moose Jaw Vanier 2-0. They then took on Assiniboia in the semi and came away with a hard fought 2-1 victory (25-14, 24-26, 25-12). In the final, it was a rematch against Outlook. The Shadows took the match 2-1 (9-25, 25-12, 25-15) and won the tourney.
As the volleyball season draws to a close, schools will be looking at starting their basketball seasons. A reminder that SWAC will be hosting a basketball officials’ clinic on Wednesday, December 9 in Swift Current (Lecture Theatre). 6:30 p.m. start time. It is free and open to the public. We are always in need of basketball officials!