The Sacred Heart High School (SHHS)junior boys volleyball team wrapped up their season with a win at district championships on Saturday, reports coach Brian Chisholm.
The games were split between Churchbridge and Langenburg. Eight teams were in action, including the SHHS Saints, Yorkton Regional High School Raiders (YRHS), the MCS Cobras, and Langenburg.
The Saints began their day with a round robin game against the Cobras in Churchbridge.
After winning the first set 25 - 16, Sacred Heart let up, and let the win get away from them after losing the second and third sets.
"All season (long), we have struggled to maintain our momentum after a first set win. I was really frustrated with how we let them back in the game," notes coach Chisholm.
The loss meant that the Saints needed to win their next two matches to make the playoffs, as only two of the four teams from each pool advanced to the medal round.
The next game saw the Saints face off against Norquay.
The players responded well, easily winning the match in two sets.
INVERMAY
The next opponent was Invermay.
Team captain Bryan Buzinski, who won the coin toss, won the right to serve first, Chisholm said. Buzinski calmly served 25 consecutive points, for the very rare 25 - 0 perfect game.
"Ì considered giving Bryan a break after he had struggled a bit in the earlier matches," notes coach Chisholm.
"But I gave him the chance to start, and he proved that he was ready to play."
The Saints knocked off Invermay in the second set 25 - 11 to secure second place in their pool.
"The boys boarded the van for the quick trip to Langenburg to find out who they would face in the semi-final," recalls Chisholm.
YRHS
In the other pool, the YRHS and Langenburg finished with identical 2-1 records, however, the YRHS won the head-to-head match up, said Chisholm, and that earned them first place in their pool and a date with the Saints in one semi-final.
Langenburg's second place meant a match with MCS in the other semi-final.
In the a battle of the Saints vs Raiders that didn't take place in Yorkton, the first set was a real back and forth affair, says Chisholm.
"Thanks to some strong team serving, the Saints came away with a 25 -19 win," said Chisholm.
The second set saw the Raiders respond, grabbing the early momentum, jumping out to an 18 - 9 lead.
Sacred Heart showed resolve, and fought back to tie the score at 23-23.
The last two points slipped away from Sacred Heart, and the game went to a third and deciding set.
Sacred Heart earned some momentum from their second set comeback and were able to jump out front and never look back, taking the set 15-11 and earning a birth in the gold medal game.
The other semi-final saw MCS defeat Langenburg, after a Cobra serve hit the net and rolled over onto the other side of the net for the deciding point.
The bronze medal match feature Langenburg vs the YRHS.
Chisholm said the YRHS had only six players all day, and it caught up to them in the end.
"They were not able to gain much momentum during the match and Langenburg was able to secure the victory and the bronze medal."
The first set of the final was another a real back and forth game. Late in the first set, the Saints trailed MCS 23 - 20.
Coach Chisholm called a timeout to re-focus his players. They responded remarkably well, taking the next five points and the set.
"The second set saw our old nemesis come back to bite us. We were our own worst enemy. We made too many errors and made it difficult on ourselves instead of our opponents," observed Chisholm.
"We came out flat, and at times looked confused," he said in disbelief.
"I'm not sure if it was nerves or fatigue, but we didn't look good."
Melville won the set 25 - 17. The gold medal match was going to a third and deciding set.
3rd SET
SHHS once again came out flat in the third. "We played about the same as we did in the second set.
Too many errors, and too many easy free balls. We got down 9 -3, and I really didn't think we'd be able to come back."
Once again, a timeout changed momentum. The Saints started to claw their way back, one point at a time. They closed the gap to 12 - 8, but in a game to 15, they were still in a hole.
"The boys wouldn't give up. Our best servers were coming up to the line, and I knew we had a slim chance to get back into it."
SHHS took the next four points to tie it at 12, before MCS made it 13 - 12.
JOHNSON TO THE RESCUE
A 5' 2" kid who is more known for coming up big on the golf courses throughout the summer, decided it was a good time to show he's pretty sweet on the hardcore, too.
"We won the next point to tie it up again, and Kade Johnson went back to the line to serve," reports coach Chisholm on the two-sport wonder.
"I could sense he was nervous, but he did his job and made the two most important serves of the season."
Johnson, who has been through his share of intense golf tournaments over the years admitted the nerves kicked in, but said he relied on a little of his golf-sense to help get him through it.
"Everything does (helps)," he said, adding that he is good at calming himself. It felt good."
He helped tie the third set and then delivered an ace to put SHHS up 14-13, he said.
He also added he "didn't think we had a great chance of winning".
SHHS went on to win the set 15 - 13 to claim the gold medal.
"It was an emotional win for us. The boys worked hard all season. They were committed and really came together as a team."
Coach Chisholm would really like to thank all of the parents of his players for their commitment and support all season long. "We had many parents at every game all season. Parents volunteered to be drivers, lines people, and super fans. It meant a lot."
