The Sacred Heart Lady Saints senior volleyball team travelled to Carlyle on Saturday, November 15 to take part in the 4A Â鶹´«Ã½AV Region qualifier with the hopes of qualifying for the 4A Provincials for the third consecutive season.
Sacred Heart's first opponent in Pool A play was the host Gordon F. Kells Cougars (Carlyle).
The Saints came out strong in both sets, taking leads of 8-0 and 10-1 thanks to strong serving by Taneisha Roussin, Nicole Redl and Darrian Enns en route to a straight sets victory, 25-16, 25-23 over the host Cougars.
That set them up for a first place battle with the Lumsden Angels. The first set saw the two teams go toe-to-toe, trading the lead and entertaining everyone in attendance with long rallies, strong blocks and powerful kills.
However it was the Angels that managed to just barely edge out the Saints in the first set, dropping the Saints by a score of 25-23. The second set also went the way of the Angels as Lumsden's powerful hitters overpowered the Saints defence to take set two 25-14.
The loss meant that the Lady Saints now had to take on their arch rivals from Melville in the semi-finals as the Cobras finished first overall in Pool B.
Set one of the semi-final was a nightmare for the Saints as the Cobras seemed to score points almost at will resulting in a 14-25 set one loss for Sacred Heart.
The shoe was on the other foot for the second set however, as the Saints offence came out firing, taking an early lead and never looking back to march to their own 25-14 victory in the second set to set up an all-important third set.
As has been the case between the two schools in 2014, at least where the third set is concerned, Melville's tenacity and powerful hitting proved too much for the Saints in a 25-15 Melville third set victory to propel the Cobras into the Regional final and Provincials, while the loss sent the Saints to the third place game against the Regina Martin Monarchs to decide which team will earn the third and final Provincial spot.
Both teams proved why they were battling for a Provincial birth in the first set as the two traded points the entire way through. However it was Sacred Heart that managed to power thru for an extra couple of points to take the first set by the narrowest of margins, 26-24.
The loss in the first set seemed to dishearten the Monarchs as the Saints carried the flow of play in the second set, dispatching the Regina squad in convincing fashion, 25-16, to guarantee themselves a spot in the 4A Provincial Championship tournament.
"Overall I was happy with our teams' performance," offered Lady Saint head coach Perry Enns. "We were in every match and the team played very well."
Enns then credited the Lady Saints' overall team defence, especially in the form of blocking, saying that they played a huge role in Sacred Heart's third consecutive Provincial birth. "We had some strong blocking by middles Darrian Enns and Taylor Malayney and great defence from Brooke-Lyn Somogyi and Chelsea Spilchuk," mentioned Enns. "Nicole Redl delivered another strong performance for a rookie setter as well."
Next action
The next action for the Lady Saints will be Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22 when they take the long drive north to La Loche for Provincial action.
