The Sacred Heart Saints senior boys' volleyball team found themselves in slightly unusual circumstances last Wednesday night.
They hosted a one-day tournament in their home gym on a Wednesday.
The Conference volleyball playoffs were held two days in advance of Remembrance Day. The mid-week tournament date did nothing to faze the team, at least not the home team, says coach Curtis Moen.
The Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) Conference tournament included five teams, says Moen.
Sacred Heart, Melville, Fort Qu'Appelle, Balcarres and Kamsack.
The tournament was a round robin format with 10 games and no playoffs. The Saints team went undefeated winning each match taking first place, and securing a trip to regionals.
"Regionals will be strong," notes Curtis Moen, SHHS coach, just before heading into their last match of the night, against Kamsack.
"We have a really good opportunity to make it (to provincials)," he said.
"It won't be easy like today," he offered with a smile.
Melville came in second place.
Their only setback came against Moen's Saints. Kamsack placed in third, Balcarres, in fourth and Fort Qu'Appelle in fifth.
The top three teams will now move on to compete at regionals on Nov. 19 which is to be hosted in the Qu'Appelle Valley region, says Moen.
The SHHS squad started off okay and finished off nearly flawlessly, said Moen, adding that the final match of the night for SHHS didn't mean much in the standings.
"We ended up being first," he said, noting that they did not have the greatest start in the opening set when they played Melville, who went on to lose to SHHS but it was their only loss of the tournament.
"There were lots of free balls with Melville," said Moen, adding that his team was a "little bit not awake yet", having to get ready for 9:30 a.m., start time.
Melville won the opening set 25-18, but SHHS fired back to win the next two, Moen said. Scores were 25-21 and 27-25.
Against Balcarres, SHHS won two straight, 25-11 and 26-24.
"They're a weaker team. It was an opportunity to play our younger playersthey're coming along," says Moen. Preston Liebrecht and Dylan Johnson came up big, he says
Regionals will be a six-team round robin tournament and the top two teams will advance to provincials in Wilkie on Nov. 25-26.
Says Moen: "We look forward to regional playoffs and we have a great opportunity of making our way to provincials if the team plays to their potential."
The Saints team has improved on passing and serving and we hope to keep that momentum going into regionals."
