AS I SEE IT COLUMN: All hail SRSS Sabres varsity girls volleyball

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/12/2023 (569 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just like their male counterparts did a year ago, the Steinbach Regional Secondary School (SRSS) Sabres varsity girls volleyball team captured the provincial high school volleyball championship, in an epic five set nail-biter over the Lord Selkirk Royals.

Steinbach looked nervous during the first game but somehow came out victorious. That set gave the Sabres a tremendous confidence boost and when it was time for the always nerve-wracking fifth and deciding set, it was Steinbach who looked calm and Selkirk who looked out of sorts.

The provincial banner proves yet again Steinbach and the surrounding area is part of the province that must be reckoned with when it comes to volleyball. The Sabres upsetting the number one seed Royals is the latest iteration of a rivalry that has existed for decades. (I saw Sabres alumni Paul and Mark Reimer in attendance and remember their classic battles with Selkirk in the early 80’s.)

Just how epic was the varsity girls victory?

According to the Manitoba High School Athletic Association (MHSSA), the last time a school from Steinbach won a provincial title in girls’ volleyball was 45 years ago, way back in 1968, before humankind landed on the moon.

It’s the first provincial crown for Sabres girls since the MHSAA adopted their AAAA, AAA, AA, and A provincial championship format.

An important side note about Sienna Driedger. Yes she was the tournament MVP. Yes she is the number one ranked player in Manitoba. Yes she was instrumental in helping the Sabres defeat Selkirk.

But in all my years of watching amateur and professional sport, I have never encountered any athlete with a persona as bubbly and warm as Sienna. If you look only at her smile – which she does constantly throughout the match – you wouldn’t be able to tell if her team had just scored a point or given up a point. Her on-court countenance is something to behold.

Sienna’s continuous positivity on the hardwood has to be reassuring and calming to her teammates, especially in crucial and emotional points of a match. She says “thank you” when the ball boy throws her a ball when it’s her time to serve. When the match was going into the fifth and final set and the two team captains flipped a coin to see who would serve first, Sienna hugged the Selkirk captain.

Sienna’s prodigious skills on the court are well documented and were an enormous reason for the Sabres’ success this year, but she is a remarkable athlete in many different ways.

A special shout out to the hundreds of raucous Sabres supporters – many dressed in SRSS black and gold – who were definitely the “seventh player” on the court. Once again it had the feel of a Steinbach Regional home game, with Royals fans struggling to keep pace with the enthusiasm of the Sabres fans.

It was a special evening, one that the Sabres will remember for a very long time. Here’s hoping it’s not another 45 years before their next provincial title.

Big time congratulations to head coach Amy Toews, assistant coaches Johnathan David, Mickey Sorochuk and Carsyn Peters and of course, to the players: Callie Andres, Acacia Brown, Sienna Driedger, Olive Fast, Kelsey Kroeker, Grace LeClair, Taleesa Minnaar, Kate Penner, Gabriela Peters, Hazel Picklyk, Kiersten Reimer, Sydney Turenne, Eliza Villaneuva, Isabelle Voth and Madisson Wiebe-Gay.