It was a great weekend of volleyball for the Southwest as we had Swift Current Colts capture gold and the Fox Valley girls take the bronze! Plus two boys’ teams captured regional volleyball titles.
Congratulations to the Swift Current Colts and their coaches Daniel Andrie and Brad Hennenfent on winning the SHSAA 5A boys provincial volleyball title! The team attended provincials at Meadow Lake on November 17 & 18 and were one of 10 teams taking part. The Colts placed first in Pool A with wins over Balgonie Greenall (2-1), Regina Campbell (2-0), Saskatoon St. Joseph’s (2-0) and Prince Albert St. Mary’s (2-0). In the quarter final, the Colts took on the host Meadow Lake Spartans who were 4th in pool B and came away with a 25-19, 27-25 win. This put them in the semi final against their top rivals Balgonie. The Colts were victorious 25-19 and 25-21. The gold medal match was played against Saskatoon Holy Cross. The Colts won the match and the title 25-20, 25-19. This is the Colts first banner in boys’ volleyball since 1999!
Fox Valley and Maple Creek were the site of the SHSAA 1A girls provincial volleyball championships on Nov 17 & 18. A sincere thank you to our commissioners Pat Wilde and Chris Sharp as well as the staff, students and community volunteers from both schools for all their hard work. It was a great championship! The host Fox Valley Legends captured the bronze medal. Congratulations to the Legends and their coaches Kendra Lehmann and Pat Wilde! The Lady Legends placed 2nd in Pool B with a record of 3 wins and 1 loss. The girls posted wins over Plenty (25-22, 22-25, 17-15), Eston (25-15, 25-23) and Kakisiwew (25-13, 25-16). The loss came to Rose Valley (20-25, 15-25). The girls then played the quarter finals against 3rd place from pool A which was Annaheim. It was a close match with the Legends taking it 28-26 and 25-15. The semi final was versus the top team in Pool A Englefeld Eagles. The Eagles won the match 27-25 and 25-14. The Legends played in the bronze medal match against Plenty Wildcats. It was an exciting game with great offense displayed by both teams and lots of exuberant fans. In the end, the Legends prevailed taking the bronze with a two set victory 26-24, 25-19! The gold medal match saw Rose Valley Roadrunners repeat as provincial champs when they defeated Englefeld 25-19, 25-12. What a great weekend of volleyball!
Also travelling to provincial volleyball tournaments were Leader Saints (2A girls) and Swift Current Ardens (5A girls). Both teams had records of 0-4 and did not advance to the playoffs. The Leader Saints were in Davidson. The girls lost to Birch Hills (2-0), Davidson (2-0), Ile-a-la-Crosse (2-0) and Lemberg (2-0). The Ardens travelled to Melfort where they lost to Saskatoon Bishop Mahoney (2-0), PA Carlton (2-0), Regina Luther (2-0) and Balgonie Greenall (2-1). Thanks to both teams for representing the Southwest!
There were 5 boys’ teams taking part in SHSAA regional volleyball on November 18. At the 1A level, Leader Saints and Vanguard Valkyrs were at Glentworth taking part in the 1A west regional. Vanguard finished 2nd in Pool A with a win over Rockglen (2-0) and a loss to Rouleau (2-0). Meanwhile, Leader was 1st in Pool B with wins over Glentworth (2-0) and Mossbank (2-1). This put the two teams against each other in the semi. It was Leader winning 2 sets to 1 thus eliminating Vanguard. Leader then had a rematch against Mossbank in the final where they lost 2-0. With their second place finish, the Saints will now advance to 1A boys’ provincials on Nov 24 & 25 at Rouleau. Good luck to the Saints and their coach Errol Campbell!
The Fox Valley Legends captured the 2A boys west regional title in Hepburn. Congrats to the Legends and their coach Darren Lehmann! They will now travel to Rocanville next weekend for provincials. The boys went through the weekend undefeated. They were first in Pool A with wins over Asquith (2-0) and Ponteix (2-0). Ponteix also beat Asquith (2-0) so they placed second in pool A. In the semi final the Legends played Kincaid/Ecole Mathieu and won 2-0 (25-16, 25-15). Meanwhile, Ponteix gave Hepburn a tough match winning 27-25 then losing 15-25, 13-15. In the final, Fox Valley defeated Hepburn (25-19, 25-16). Ponteix had one last chance to qualify in the 3rd place match against Kincaid but came up short 25-20, 25-22.
The Shaunavon Shadows are 4A boys south regional volleyball champs! Congrats to the Shadows and their coach Riley Zielke. The Shadows were in Moose Jaw and went through the weekend undefeated. They were first in Pool A with victories over Carlyle (2-0) and Moose Jaw Vanier (2-0). In the semi, they beat Fort Qu’Appelle (25-14, 25-8). They then beat Melville in the final (2-0). The Shadows will travel to Humboldt for the provincial championships. Good luck!
As the volleyball season winds to a close, the next sports on the calendar are curling, wrestling and basketball. In an effort to try and get more basketball officials, SWAC will be offering two clinics:
1) The SABO (Saskatchewan Association of Basketball Officials) clinic will be held Wednesday, November 29 at Swift Current Comp. Start time 6:30 p.m. This will be lecture based and intended for officials who have some knowledge of the game and rules. There is no cost to attend and no pre-registration required.
2) A beginners’ officials clinic will be held at Shauanvon on Thursday, November 30. This is intended for people who wish to learn the basics about basketball officiating. Start time is 6:30 p.m. There will be a short classroom session followed by court time so please bring a clean pair of runners and a whistle. There is no cost to attend and no need to pre-register.
The public is welcome to attend either clinic. The recommended ages would be 15 years and older.