The Saints senior boys' volleyball team traveled to Regina to compete at the Winston Knoll Collegiate tournament on October 3-4.
The tournament consisted of t10 teams divided into two pools of five teams each. Sacred Heart's pool consisted of Leboldus-Regina, Strasbourg, Langham and Weyburn.
The pools consisted of a round robin format. On Friday the Saints team played Leboldus. Although the team played well, Leboldus took control with some big hitters winning the first set 25-14 and the second set 25-13 to take the game in straight sets.
In the second match Sacred took on Langham. The Saints won the first set 25-22, lost a close second set 25-27 and fought hard in the third set winning 15-13. The day ended on a high note as Riley Kerr crushed the ball at the net to end the match with a kill shot to put away a tough Langham club.
On Saturday the team faced off against Strasbourg, who boasted a solid team with some very good hitters. The Saints won the first set 25-15, but Strasbourg took momentum in the second set.
In a rare showing of sportsmanship at the high school level, Saints' Nick Kerr admitted to touching the net as the ball traveled out of the court. Initially the Saints were awarded the point, however due to Kerr's honesty the decision was reversed and Strasbourg was awarded the point and the set, 25-21 to send the match to a third and final set.
The final set saw the Saints come out victorious in a hotly contested 18-16 final set in which Sacred Heart showed composure under pressure and determination.
In the last round robin match the team re-played Weyburn, who they had lost to two weeks prior at the University of Regina tournament.
The team made some changes going into the match and controlled the game, winning the first set 25-20 before taking the second set 25-19.
This placed the Saints second overall in their pool heading into the playoff portion of the tournament.
They crossed over with the other pool playing the third place team which was Melville Composite. Sacred came out slow in the first set losing 14-25, but rallied hard in the second set taking an early lead of 19-11. MCS brought some hard serving and the Saints could not regain momentum as they lost the set 21-25. This placed the team in fifth place overall.
The fifth place finish was a strong showing for the Saints team and, according to head coach Curtis Moen, allowed the players to show just how much they have improved since the start of the season. "The team showed big improvements throughout the tournament," offered Moen. "Sam Lohnes and Nick Kerr defended the net well with some strong blocking while Riley Kerr lead the team in hitting with his strong arm."
Moen then went on to compliment several other members of his team, saying, "Jake Javier stood out as the best passer on the team and Colson Walker displayed some strong serving. Rookies Kaeden Hanishewsky and Austin Thomas did a good job passing the ball for the team."
Next game action for the team is on October 17-18 as they travel to Melville for a tournament.
