Volleyball provincials launch across Manitoba
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This article was published 23/11/2023 (533 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The highways across Manitoba will be filled with athletes over the next two weeks, as Manitoba High School Athletic Association volleyball provincials begin Nov. 23. Volleyball is one of the most popular high school sports in the province, with over 6,000 athletes participating every year.
Zone 13 are hosting the AA varsity provincials, with Ile des Chenes-based school Gabrielle Roy and Lac du Bonnet hosting the boys and girls championships respectively.
In the boys final, Landmark, Gabrielle-Roy and Morris/St Jean’s co-op team have all made the tournament, which will hold the final match Dec. 2. On the girls side, Grunthal’s Green Valley will be joined by Gabrielle-Roy in the round-robin bracket.
At the highest level (AAAA), both varsity Steinbach Regional Secondary School (SRSS) teams have qualified for provincials, despite missing out on a South Central Athletic Conference (SCAC) banner.
The boys team fell to the eventual league-champion Dakota Lancers in the SCAC semi-finals, but will get a chance to avenge that loss if they can come out on top in a play-in match against Transcona Nov. 23, hosted at Daniel McIntyre School in Winnipeg at 8 p.m.. The winner will face the Lancers in one of four quarterfinals.
The girls, consistently ranked as one of the best AAAA teams in the province all year, were upset in the SCAC finals by Jeanne-Sauvé. Despite the loss, their strong play throughout the season has them as the third seed in the provincial tournament, set to play the winner between Mennonite Brethren Collegiate and Vincent Massey. That quarterfinal will take place 2 p.m. on Nov. 25 at Sisler High School.
The semi-finals and finals at the AAAA level will take place at the University of Manitoba’s Investor’s Group Athletic Centre.
In lower-level varsity action, Pointe des Chenes will be heading to Fisher River for the A Varsity boys final. All varsity tournaments outside of the AAAA level will take place from Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
At the AAA level, the final roster of teams were decided after the Zone 13 varsity championships Nov. 20. The top-ranked Steinbach Christian School Flames took care of business, easily defeating Edward Schreyer in the North vs South match-up 3-0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-8).
They’ll be joined at provincials in Dauphin by the Springfield Sabres.
On the girls side, it took Niverville five sets to defeat their Beausejour-based counterparts, but they managed to just squeak out a 3-2 victory (21-25, 25-23, 25-13, 21-25, 15-8) to lock up a spot at provincials.
At the junior varsity level, the A and AA levels are combined, with provincials this year taking place in Flin Flon (girls) and The Pas (boys). The junior varsity slate of tournaments are this weekend, with most tournaments finishing Nov. 25.
For the boys, Green Valley and the Morris/St Jean co-op team will be making the trip, while Gabrielle-Roy will represent the region on the girls side.
In AAA action the Niverville Panthers are sending teams to the girls (Linden Christian School) and boys (St Maurice School) finals, with Springfield joining Niverville at the girls tournament.
Gabrielle-Roy looks to have a great generation of players coming up, as they’ll be competing at the AAAA level for junior varsity provincials. They’ll be joined by SRSS in the 12-team tournament. The finals at the junior varsity level for AAAA will also be played at the University of Manitoba Nov. 27.
The SRSS junior varsity girls team will have a chance to make history, continuing their undefeated season after defeating Jeanne-Sauvé in the SCAC finals. The quarterfinals and semi-finals will mostly take place at Dakota, before shifting to the university for the championship match.