SPORTS FLASHBACK 1982: Ste Anne Lynx undefeated on way to provincial ‘A’ v-ball title

The Ste Anne Lynx came close to losing a volleyball game Saturday. They have Marilyn Mourant to thank for not delaying the start of their victory party at the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s Provincial “A” volleyball championships..

When Mourant went to the serving line in the provincial “A” finals at St Norbert, the Lynx were trailing Ashern 14-8. When she finished, she had counted eight straight serving points and the team was the new provincial “A” champion.

The Lynx went through the round-robin of the tournament without a loss and sidelined the other Seine River Division team from St Norbert in the semi-finals.

Ashern didn’t lose a game in the round-robin either, going 10 and zero, and polished off Rosenort in short order in the semis by 15-5 scores in two straight games.

Ashern provided little resistance on the way to a 15-4 defeat in the first game of the finals against Ste Anne, but came alive in the do-or-die second contest to come within a point of forcing a third game. The Ste Anne rally stopped that.

In the boys’ championship, played at Ste Anne, the Lynx didn’t fare as well, going five and three in round-robin play before bowing two straight to Rosenort in the semi-finals.

Rosenort went on to defeat Ashern 15-11 and 15-13 for the provincial “A” boys’ title.

Both Ste Anne teams were considered favorites going into the provincial championships, after downing their Grunthal rivals in zone play a week earlier.

In girls’ Zone 13 action, Ste Anne split the first two games of the finals, winning 15-10 and before losing the second 15-11. In the next two games, Grunthal seemed to tire, as Lisa Legal of the Lynx picked their defense apart with pinpoint spikes, leading to a pair of victories, and a berth in the provincials.

The Grunthal boys advanced to the zone finals by downing Powerview 15-0, 15-3, 15-3, while Ste Anne had a similar easy task with Pine Falls, 15-0, 15-3, 15-4.

In boys’ action, an injury to Ste Anne’s Phil Gregoire almost resulted in a loss for the Lynx. After helping his team to back-to-back victories, the key setter for Ste Anne was sidelined with an ankle injury. With Ste Anne ahead 6-2, Grunthal rallied in the game and won 15-9.

In the fourth game, Grunthal jumped to an early 5-0 lead, but after a time out, Coach Jude Boulianne was able to bring his charges back on track, to win 15-7.

Grunthal reached the zone finals by downing Sagkeeng School 15-4, 15-8, 15-8, while Ste Anne had no problem with Pine Falls 15-1, 15-9, 15-2.

The Ste Anne Lynx varsity girls’ volleyball followed the example set by Grunthal last year, when their team followed a zone championship with a small schools provincial title.

On the boys’ side of the draw, the Lynx were unable to repeat their 1980 performance, when they won the small schools title.