MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Cornerstone Christian School Falcons and Vanier Spirits each won bronze at their respective Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association girls volleyball provincial championship this past weekend.
The Falcons finished third at the 2A girls' tournament in Outlook, while the Spirits did the same at the 4A girls' event in La Ronge.
Cornerstone got off to a great start in round-robin play, going undefeated through three games on Friday with a 2-1 (25-18, 24-26, 15-11) win over eventual champion Wakaw, 2-0 (25-23, 25-16) victory over Willkie and a 2-0 (25-21, 25-22) win against Wadena. The Falcons then closed out pool play with a perfect 4-0 record by downing host LCBI 2-0 (25-19, 25-16) to open play Saturday.
That sent Cornerstone into the playoff round as the top seed, and they’d live up to that billing in the quarter-final with a 2-0 (25-19, 25-18) victory over Kinistino.
Things didn’t go as well for the Falcons in the provincial semifinal, where they’d drop a 2-1 (25-23, 17-25, 15-12) decision to Langham. They’d rebound in style, though, rolling to a 2-0 (25-18, 25-18) victory over Gravelbourg to secure bronze.
Wakaw defeated Langham 2-0 (25-14, 25-20) in the 2A girls gold medal game.
For Vanier, things were up and down on their first day of competition, as they found themselves in three barnburners on Friday afternoon.
The Spirits opened with a 2-1 (18-25, 25-14, 16-14) loss to Tisdale before hitting the win column with a 2-1 (18-25, 25-17, 15-11) win over Fort Qu’Appelle and falling 2-1 (25-23, 19-25, 15-10) to Nipawin.
That made their contest with Meadow Lake on Saturday morning a must-win to make the playoffs, and they’d get the job done with a 2-0 (25-20, 25-20) victory to finish second in the pool with a 2-2 record.
Things went well for Vanier in their first playoff game, with a 25-14, 25-21 win over Lumsden, but they’d run into the top seed in the province in their semifinal, North Battleford John Paul II. The Spirits put pressure on the Crusaders and had the lead late in the first set, but would go on to drop a 2-0 (25-23, 25-23) decision.
The bronze medal game was another hard-fought battle, and Vanier would prevail with a 2-1 (25-27, 25-21, 15-11) victory to finish third.
John Paul II defeated Melfort 2-0 (25-13, 25-15) in the 4A girls gold medal game.
