The YRHS Raiders senior boys鈥� volleyball team did all they could to qualify for the 2015 SHSAA 5A Provincials this past weekend in Estevan, however it simply wasn鈥檛 enough as the they went 1-2 in the round-robin before seeing their season end in the quarterfinals.
The Raiders opened the competition up with a hard fought three set win over Balgonie, taking the first set 31-29 before dropping the second set 17-25.
A 25-10 third set victory gave the Raiders their first 鈥� and only 鈥� win of the 5A 麻豆传媒AV Regional as the team then lost in straight sets to both Weyburn (25-18, 25-15) and Moose Jaw Central (27-25, 25-20) to finish the round-robin at 1-2, good enough for third place in the four team Pool B and a quarterfinal matchup against the Group A winners from Swift Current.
A weak effort in the first set saw the Raiders fall 25-11, but a strong performance in the second set gave the orange-clad volleyball players hope, only to have it dashed away again as the Colts put together a late run to win 25-20 and eliminate the Raiders from Provincial contention.鈥� They had too many weapons and played a game with little errors,鈥� said YRHS head coach Brendon Weir when asked about Swift Current, adding that it鈥檚 not easy to end a season that way. 鈥淟osing is always a tough way to end a season, whether it is at Regionals or in the Provincial Championship game. I believe that in our final game against Swift Current was one of our better played games of the year, and it just so happened to come against a very good team.
鈥淥bviously disappointment is there in times of defeat, but there were many positives to take from that game, from the way the boys stuck together to how they played until the final point.鈥�
Weir believes the 2015 season was one of learning experiences and that next year鈥檚 team will benefit from what they went through this year, especially when it comes to the mental side of the game. 鈥淚 think that what we learnt as a team is that volleyball is not played purely on physical talent, but as well as mental strength,鈥� said Weir. 鈥淭his is something we need to identify early (next year) and try to overcome as a team. Every team we played this year can play the game of volleyball, but it was against those teams who were able to get over that mental hurdle, that鈥檚 where we often found ourselves in trouble.
鈥淎 mistake will happen on the volleyball court, but it is how you respond. That鈥檚 what makes a good team into a great team.鈥�
